Unexpected
by Brackenpaw
Summary: When Fireheart goes to get his lives in "The Darkest Hour", Bluestar admits that there's been a mistake in her actions. Leaving him with a prophecy, he struggles as more darkness approaches ThunderClan. And who will be the new leader?  A 'What If' story!
1. One

**A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for finding your way here! **

**This is my first Warriors fanfic, and I'm  
very excited to finally p****ublish it here! It  
sets off immediately after Fireheart falls  
asleep at the Moonstone in Chapter 2 ****of  
"The Darkest Hour", and follows a different  
plot from there. ****So, it's a definite 'What If'  
story - what if Fireheart doesn't become  
leader? ****The main characters of this story  
are, of course, Fireheart, and also Whitestorm,  
****Brackenfur, and many others. I'll also feature  
SkyClan soon - just wait... ****Or read my profile  
for a more detailed summary. ****I must add that  
I really like happy endings. ;-) Enjoy!  
****& Disclaimer: I own nothing. Sadly.**

_When Fireheart gets his lives in The Darkest Hour, Bluestar admits that there's  
been a mistake,_ _and leaves the warrior with a prophecy. But who will the new leader be?_

**U **_n e x p e c t e d_

… it was light, and not dark, how Cinderpelt had told him. From very far, Fireheart saw two cats approaching him, a very well-known blue-grey figure, and a larger, reddish-brown one. A familiar smell reached Fireheart's nostrils as they neared him quietly, but determined.

"Bluestar! And you're… Oakheart, right?" he suspected, never having met Oakheart in person. The previous ThunderClan leader nodded her head and looked at him warmly.

"What happens now? Have I already got the lives? And if not, will it hurt? Bluestar! How are you?" Fireheart couldn't keep himself from babbling. Having witnessed Bluestar's death that had hurt so much, he was more than glad to see her again, and he literally seemed to drown in curiosity. But Bluestar had an unreadable expression on her face, while Oakheart was licking her shoulder gently.

"Fireheart… you're here. I'm happy to see you. But I'm so sorry, it's not going to be like this. It is not supposed to be like this. Not now, it's not your time yet. You're still very young, Fireheart. I've always trusted you with my life, but my trust to the entire Clan had been fading in my last moons among you, you know this. I have made the wrong decision…," she mewed. "It is not as if I would not trust you any longer, it's just that the warrior ancestors have envisioned another purpose for ThunderClan."

Fireheart was lacking words. She appointed him as deputy, and while on her way to StarClan, she made him aim for the victory and the might over the Clan, and now?

He felt dizzy. Something wasn't right anymore. But Bluestar spoke on:

_"When the snow approaches, fire would not bear up against it and make ThunderClan have to fight. The one who is invisible in the snow is the chosen one to make his way up to his warrior ancestors to share his experience with the cats of the forest…"_

_Dang. _Fireheart woke up and looked into Cinderpelt's blue eyes, who stood looking down at him with one raised paw. He noticed he had been moving around a lot during sleep, as he looked at the scratched and messy sand floor.

"Mouse brain! I do know that it's not always enjoyable to share tongues with StarClan, but that's not a reason to beat me as if I was a ShadowClan cat!", Cinderpelt exclaimed breathlessly.

"I'm sorry, I…" Fireheart tried to stutter anything. He still didn't find any words for this huge letdown. "So? How was it?" she asked.

"They, they didn't give me my lives! Cinderpelt! There was Oakheart, and Bluestar! And a prophecy, Bluestar gave me a prophecy!"

"What? Why not? Fireheart, you're the born leader, what could have gone wrong?"

"I don't even know if I am. I've actually never thought of becoming leader. Bluestar seemed so eternal, and it seemed as she would never die. But she said, someone would have to join StarClan… oh no.."

"Come on. Let's go home. Don't think about it right now. They're surely already waiting for you at the camp. Respectively for you," the medicine cat said, and leaned her muzzle against his fur to give him comfort.

They had already left behind Highstones and the main part of WindClan territory, but sorrows and grief, mostly for the Clan, were still bothering Fireheart. Who would lead ThunderClan now? And why would they have to lose somebody again? He just couldn't seem to understand it. Cinderpelt hobbled next to him in silence. They had already made a break once, and Fireheart had caught several mice and a vole for Cinderpelt. He didn't feel any hunger himself - it was as if a deep hole had been scratched into his belly. He shook his head and pushed all the bad thoughts away, and leaped forward.

When Cinderpelt was about to push herself through the gorse tunnel, Fireheart already smelled Graystripe and Sandstorm, as well as several other cats, and could hear their excited conversations. What should he tell them now? The truth? He couldn't enter camp, not now.

"Cinderpelt," he asked. "Please. Get Sandstorm and Graystripe… and Cloudtail, and we'll meet at Sunningrocks. Alright?"

"Of course, Fireheart. Just go, I'll see you then. I'm not going to say anything yet."

"What?," asked Sandstorm, his love, Cloudtail, his nephew, and Graystripe, his best friend, at once, when he told them. It had already gotten dark, and Fireheart really wanted to sleep for a bit now, and so, he was not exactly in the mood for explanations. "Yes, really. No nine lives for Fireheart…"

Cinderpelt looked questingly at him. "But what does _the one who is invisible in the snow is the chosen one to make his way up to his warrior ancestors _mean? Fireheart, we're not going to have to lose more cats, are we?"

Graystripe looked worried, Sandstorm no less. The disappointment that her mate had been declined to become leader was written in her face, but beneath was a big spark of relief. Fireheart assumed she would have been scared that things wouldn't be the same anymore.

"I don't know, Cinderpelt," he replied honestly. "But I guess that this prophecy can't have another meaning. We'll just have to wait and watch what's happening with ThunderClan. Maybe StarClan sends us a sign when I'll be allowed to make my way to the Moonstone to finally receive my nine lives."

Graystripe's facial expression hadn't changed. He had still not come over his mate Silverstream's death, which had occurred while giving birth to his kits, who were now in RiverClan. Graystripe feared his loved one's deaths a lot since then. "_The one who is invisible in the snow…_," he murmured.

"Leaf-bare arrives soon. A cat is going to have to freeze to death, right?" Cloudtail asked very quiet. He was always the one who could deal best with shocking facts, due to his disbelief in StarClan. Sandstorm made a face as if she'd lost both her parents, Brindleface and Redtail, over again.

Fireheart stared on. The silence was only broken when he yawned.

"It was a really hard journey. Graystripe, tell Dustpelt and Frostfur to sit night vigil. The patrol for tomorrow morning shall," Fireheart yawned again, "Longtail lead. Tell him to take two apprentices of his choice."

"Of course, Fireheart", his loyal friend replied. "Thanks," Fireheart said and pressed his nose onto Graystripe's, as he did with Cinderpelt's . "Tomorrow, the Gathering takes place. I will go talk to the other medicine cats to ask them if StarClan has told them something about all this, if you'll let me go."  
"Thanks for today, Cinderpelt. For everything. And I'll think about it." She went with a friendly twinkle in her blue eyes, that gave Fireheart another spark of hope.

He turned to look into Sandstorm's deep green eyes. "Hello…," she whispered. Fireheart stared at her with a questioning gaze. "I haven't really talked to you in two days, Fireheart… I'm so sorry for what happened. Everything." She pressed her muzzle onto his. Fireheart replied to the greeting, and let a deep breath out.

"It's not as bad, it's just the shock, you know?" he quickly exclaimed. "Of course," she admitted. "Let's go to the warriors' den. You're right, the journey was surely hard. Please don't worry, StarClan is going to send us help. Somehow…"

Fireheart didn't sleep calmly that night. It was not only the sorrows bothering him, but also his dreams, because he dreamed of nothing at all. He always dreamed of something! _The journey to the Moonstone totally destroyed me_, he thought angrily. Sandstorm's paw was resting on his, and she breathed quietly in and out. Fireheart noticed that she slept really peacefully, and he didn't want to wake her now. So he decided to go hunting for a bit, alone.

The red warrior caught five mice, three pigeons and two voles, a remarkable catch for hunting alone. He had to walk back to camp four times to deliver all the prey, and was really proud of his accomplishment. _If we just didn't have to lose anyone!_

"Fireheart! I have to talk to you, right away! Please come to my den," Cinderpelt mewed from across the clearing. He nodded and grabbed a vole for her and a mouse for himself. The fresh-kill pile was still huge though, at least one positive event in ThunderClan.

Fireheart laid the vole down in front of Cinderpelt's paws, and started chewing his mouse. "What's up?" he smacked. The medicine cat looked at him in amusement.  
"I had a dream. My father Lionheart appeared to me, and he said that StarClan thinks you should at least lead the Clan until the prophecy is revealed."

The reddish tom almost choked on his mouse. "A-alright…," he stuttered. "Lionheart was really your father? I didn't know that." Fireheart remembered the former deputy, brutally killed by Blackfoot, ShadowClan's deputy, as a loyal, proud and strong warrior, and as Graystripe's mentor.

"Who else, mouse brain?" Cinderpelt shrieked. "Look at my brothers!" She was right. Both Brackenfur and Thornpaw resembled the majestic cat a lot. Fireheart clenched at the thought of Thornpaw. Bluestar hadn't been willing to make him a warrior, and now, without the authority as a leader, he couldn't do it either.

"So!" the medicine cat happily meowed. "Tonight's the gathering. Who are you taking?"

"Graystripe, I guess. I'll need him. Brackenfur and Tawnypaw, Longtail, Mousefur and Thornpaw, Ashpaw, Frostfur, Whitestorm, and Cloudtail. You wanted to join, too, didn't you, Cinderpelt? Of course I'll allow you to go talk to the other medicine cats," Fireheart decided. "Yes, Fireheart, thanks! You should go tell the others."

Fireheart sighed. _Oh, StarClan, what is there to look forward to? _

_Where will this lead me? Where will this lead ThunderClan? _

_StarClan, help me. Please._


	2. Two

**A/N: Thanks for reading my story! 2 reviews aren't that much,  
but anyways, here's the next chapter, that also features some...  
Um, just read it! :-) I can guarantee that this won't be the last  
time in this fic that a thing like this happens here, which I'm  
very excited about! About the auxiliar perspective, I hope you're  
alright with that. I just can't tell everything from Fireheart's  
****or somebody else's POV - that just doesn't work for this story.  
I'm not a huge fan of "~Crowfeather POV ~Leafpool POV" and  
things like that that change _constantly._ Grrr. If it's a good story,  
then I'll let it pass, but otherwise... Great StarClan, what am I  
****rambling about? Enjoy! And don't forget to review! **

Onewhisker, his apprentice Gorsepaw, and the deputy of WindClan, Deadfoot, had been sent to patrol their ShadowClan border, and then go to the Gathering by themselves. "Can you smell something?" Onewhisker asked the reddish-white apprentice. "ShadowClan, but on their side, and Tallstar. He went hunting here before, didn't he? And else, rabbit." All of a sudden, Gorsepaw jumped into one of the few bushes that there were on WindClan territory, and returned within seconds with the prey. "Very well done!" Deadfoot praised. "And yes, that was Tallstar. Everything seems to be okay here. Let's go a bit higher, in the direction of the twoleg-place, there where the river grows narrow," the deputy suggested.  
They made their way up, very fast, just how their Clan was known for. "And now-" Onewhisker started, but this breathing suddenly stopped, as he smelled a strange cat.

"Into position!" Deadfoot commanded quietly. They sneaked round a thorn bush, waiting for an attack. Gorsepaw peeked around, but there was only a she-cat, with pretty blue eyes, her fur totally disheveled and full of sand, dust and mud, who strayed around randomly, and also looked amused and a very strange kind of way.  
Her smell was, due to her condition, completely unrecognizable.

"You!" Deadfoot yelled, "who are you and what do you want on our territory?" "Territory?" the she-cat replied with a weak voice. "I've heard of such a thing before. During my time in… in a Clan! Yes!"

"You're surely not a real Clan cat. What's your name?" Gorsepaw asked in an arrogant tone, this being his first real confrontation with a strange cat.

"I don't know!" the she-cat admitted in a way that it really sounded honest. "When you said the word 'territory' I remembered the word 'Clan', and now I know that it's like a family for a cat. But I don't remember anything else, except for feathers in a storm."

"And where are you coming from now?" Deadfoot asked, his voice a bit more gently. Confusion literally stood in the she-cat's face.

"I woke up at the border of the river in this condition, there were the river is almost no more, no narrow it was. I liked the water. I just followed some scents and that brought me here, but I don't know anything else, I swear!" she unrecognizable cat told the WindClan warriors.

"Feathers and storm? What-" "Not now, Gorsepaw," Onewhisker interrupted his apprentice.

"Deadfoot, should we bring her to the Gathering? It's almost Moonhigh! If she has been a Clan cat once upon a time, somebody _will_ recognize her for sure!"

After several minutes of silence, the WindClan deputy agreed. Only a confident would be able to save this cat.

The ThunderClan cats gathered at the clearing, before making their way to the Gathering. They had all somehow learned how the nine lives had been declined to Fireheart. After a conversation with Whitestorm, and again Cloudtail, Fireheart also made his way over to the others. Both of the white warriors had told him how sorry they were, but also encouraged him not to give up. Fireheart spotted the cats he'd chosen for the Gathering close to the gorse tunnel, the remaining ones a bit further away in the camp.

"Hey, Fireheart," Mousefur mewed. "I just have to say something, if it's alright. It's important."

"Yes?", he responded, surprised what Mousefur would have to tell.

"I'm expecting kits!" she gleamed.

Sandstorm, Willowpelt, and Lostface immediately jumped towards her and congratulated her, purring, while Frostfur looked a bit disappointed, and Goldenflower just shrieked: "Finally!" Fireheart just looked utterly confused. "Who, by StarClan, is your mate?"

The dark brown sleek she-cat looked at him in even more confusion, and answered, "Longtail".

"Didn't you know?", Mousefur asked, and the ginger warrior shook his head. He heard Whitestorm purring quietly in amusement next to him. He shot him an evil glare.

"Mouse brain!" Cinderpelt hissed. "You really don't ever get anything, do you?"

Fireheart sighed, and spotted something hurrying away across the clearing. He assumed that it was simply a kit chasing after one of the remaining bugs, or even a rabbit. He swallowed and noticed that it was almost moonhigh. "Congratulations, Mousefur. I'm sorry I never noticed, but some she-cats don't want others to know who their mate is… You're surely going to be a great mother. When are you moving into the nursery?"

"I don't know yet, I'll have to discuss this with Frostfur and Willowpelt, they'll know when it's time. After all, I have to finish Thornpaw's training!"

Fireheart guided his clanmates towards Fourtrees, and stopped shortly before they got there. "Everyone here? Okay. I can already smell RiverClan, and ShadowClan. Let's go," he commanded, and actually felt a little bad about it afterwards. He was _not _ThunderClan's leader! But who was going to be? This was so embarrassing! He'd already told WindClan warriors that he was going to be the new leader, and Mistyfoot and Stormfur knew, too! Then, Fireheart realized that a true warrior showed bravery, and bravery meant telling the truth.

The RiverClan deputy, Stormfur, approached him quickly, along with his sister, Mistyfoot. "Firestar! How are you? Everything alright in ThunderClan? Who is your deputy?"

Fireheart shook his head. "It's still Fireheart, actually. Your mother made a mistake back then, and gave me a prophecy. I'm not chosen to get my lives. I don't know who's going to be leader now, I'm afraid."

Stormfur nodded his head, Fireheart thought that as deputy, he could imagine what it would feel like not to get his nine lives. Mistyfoot stared at him, compassion welling in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Fireheart. Seek comfort in the cats you love, this will help," she murmured quietly, and made her way over to her mate Blackclaw, who immediately wrapped his tail over her shoulders.

Finally, Fireheart saw WindClan making their way into the neutral territory, seemingly escorting a cat in their middle.

"What's going on there?" Graystripe asked him. "No idea," Fireheart responded. "I think I need to get going." Graystripe nuzzled his shoulder in approval.

Fireheart jumped onto the Great Rock, for the second time in a few moons. _And the last time_, he thought. Tigerstar seemed uncomfortably quiet, he seemed to have noticed that his daughter, Tawnypaw, shot him evil glances permanently. Fireheart smiled at the loyalty of his apprentices, and noticed Ashpaw next to Tawnypaw, who sat with her mentor, Brackenfur. He'd chosen a third ThunderClan apprentice to go to the Gathering, Thornpaw. He couldn't find him, though!

Fireheart looked around, and searched for Mousefur, Thornpaw's mentor, only to find her gossiping with some RiverClan queens, and Frostfur sat alone next to them.

Where was Thornpaw? He had to worry about this later. Tallstar had just jumped onto the Great Rock.

He turned around, and Tigerstar nodded at him. "Firestar," they said in unison, along with Leopardstar. Fireheart simply shook his head, it felt like the thousandth time he did so. Fireheart took one last deep breath before his final humiliation. He'd left Sandstorm back in camp for a reason, he didn't want her to see him like this. What would she think about him then? Would she still love him? The thought of her deep green eyes encouraged him to finally speak.

"Cats of the Clans, I say these words before many of you. StarClan has not granted my a leader's nine lives."

An indigent murmur quickly spread among the cats. "Silence!" Leopardstar shrieked. "What?"

"It's true," Fireheart admitted. "I'm still Fireheart. Bluestar and Oakheart told me they made a mistake, and now I'll have to dissolve a prophecy. But I need to do this on my own, only with the help of my closest friends and kin. They let me lead ThunderClan until the problem is fixed," he mewed.

Fireheart expected some insulting comments from Tigerstar now, but he remained silent.

Tallstar coughed. "Um, I'm very sorry, Fireheart, but there's nothing more that we could do. If I could continue now… A strange cat has entered WindClan's territory today!" the black-and-white leader announced.

Fireheart spotted his friend Onewhisker, and his apprentice Gorsepaw among the cats who had been covering another cat. They stepped to the side, and Fireheart's gaze fell on a she-cat he seemed to know, but she was barely recognizable. She was so thin that her ribs were visible, her fur was clearly disheveled, and full of mud.

_Who is this?_ Fireheart wondered. He knew her!

"This she-cat is not a loner. She has lost every memory she had, but when my patrol mentioned the word 'Clan', she seemed to know it, and talked about having been part of a Clan, too, once upon a time. My warriors have done well by bringing her here. Somebody has to recognize her," Tallstar exclaimed.

The temporary ThunderClan leader exchanged a questioning gaze with Leopardstar, who also didn't seem to know what was going on.

"Step forward, stranger," Tallstar commanded. As she came nearer, Fireheart could also see that her eyes were looking far away into nothing. Then, the she-cat coughed. All the clans fell silent.

"These cats are right, I don't remember anything. But I keep having one dream," she said very quietly. "About feathers in a storm."

"Silverstream," Graystripe whispered.


	3. Three

**Wow! A huge 'thank you' to everyone  
for their support, this really means a  
lot to me. Five reviews is still not much,  
but every author stars out small. :-)  
I just wanted to add that the Silverstream  
phenomena will be declared soon. Enjoy! **

"_Silverstream,_" _Graystripe whispered._

"Impossible," Leopardstar murmured, while Tigerstar spat: "She died!" but then he looked away quickly.

"Silverstream!" Mistyfoot shrieked. "Great StarClan! I thought you died giving birth to your and Graystripe's kits! Oh, you _have _to see them! They're already apprentices! Me and Stonefur are their mentors. They're doing great, and Graystripe actually was in RiverClan once you were gone, but he eventually went back to ThunderClan…" Bluestar's daughter was obviously overexcited to see her former best friend, and cousin, again.

"Mistyfoot, shut up!" Graystripe mewed, while he moved next to them. "She doesn't remember anything!" The blue-gray she-cat stared at the ground, but Fireheart could smell that she was blown away by Silverstream's return.

"Silverstream," the long-haired ThunderClan warrior whispered again. "It's me, Graystripe. I'm your mate. I'm from another Clan, ThunderClan, and we all thought you _died,_" he mewed carefully. Fireheart was surprised how sensitive his best friend could be, if necessary.

The she-cat nodded her head. "Okay… And my name is Silverstream, right? I've heard that before." Graystripe purred, and pressed his muzzle into her fur, not caring how dirty it was. Silverstream backed away slightly. "Sorry," Graystripe whispered. "It's just that… I have grieved so much for you. But maybe we could talk about this at another place, another time…" Their whispers were barely audible now, and all the cats had calmed down again.

"I don't know how this is even possible, but if Graystripe and Mistyfoot recognize her…" Tallstar mewed.

"What do we do now? Leopardstar, do you think you could take her in again?" Fireheart asked. "Of course I can!" she spotted she-cat shrieked.

"But do you really think that it wouldn't be better to, you know, let her live with only her most familiar cat? Which is Graystripe?"

Fireheart spotted Cinderpelt, along with the other medicine cats, in the crowd. She nodded in approval.

"Graystripe caused the death of one of our best warriors, then he joined us, the left us again, and now steals Silverstream from us _again_? Do you really think we could allow that?"Leopardstar exclaimed. "I understand," Fireheart mewed, "but we all assumed she died having _his _kits! He's the one who suffered! And they loved each other, Leopardstar. I'm sorry, but if Whiteclaw returned, we'd allow the same thing. Let him be with you."

The RiverClan leader suddenly looked heartstricken. Fireheart seemed to have hit the hurt spot, her only weakness. Everybody knew that Leopardstar had, just as Graystripe, never really overcome her mate's death. Her eyes welled up.

"Alright, take her in," she mewed. "Under one condition: Silverstream has to meet up with Mistyfoot every third moonhigh at Fourtrees. She can tell her what happened in RiverClan, all the things Graystripe doesn't know. Mistyfoot will help Silverstream regain her memory, and she's the one who has known her since kithood. But I expect Cinderpelt to do something as well."

"Thank you, Leopardstar!" Fireheart mewed, feeling relieved. "I knew you would realize what is right. We assure you, we won't lose her again."

"It's a miracle, though! You all saw her die! How can she just wake up from the dead?", Tallstar inquired. Fireheart noted that Tigerstar was awkwardly quiet. "I don't know, Tallstar… I left Graystripe with her after it… happened. He told me that he, um, buried her. Graystripe?"

The ginger warrior's eyes widened when we saw that Silverstream was running her tail across his best friend's back, who was obviously confused. She was talking quietly to him. "Graystripe," Fireheart inquired again.

"Yes? Oh, yes, I did. But I felt horrible, so I," he coughed and moved away from Silverstream a bit, "tried to bury her near the river. I didn't do it right, though. That's what I remember. I'm sorry Fireheart, but the rest is a blur."

Whitestorm locked his gaze with Fireheart's, and mewed: "Lead her to camp, Graystripe. She'll need sleep."

The long-furred, gray warrior nodded his head towards the wise warrior, and guided Silverstream with his tail in direction of the ThunderClan territory.

"Alright", Fireheart mewed. "Now that this has been arranged, I would like to announce that soon there will be new kits in ThunderClan, as Mousefur is expecting. She'll move into the nursery after completing Thornpaw's apprenticeship. Where is he, by the way?"

Mousefur looked up tp him, and then shook her head. "I don't know, Fireheart! I thought he was with you, or Whitestorm, or anyone… I didn't see him anymore after my announcement earlier!"

"Oh no", Whitestorm mewed. "Come on, Mousefur. Let's go looking for him. The few dangerous kittypets from twolegplace always leave their dens at this time of the day!" He hurried forwards, Mousefur close at his paws. "Wait! I won't let you go alone! I won't let you risk the kits!" and then he was already in the forest, too. Tawnypaw and Brackenfur stood with some WindClan apprentices and their mentors, clearly frightened.

"Do you think he will be alright?" Tawnypaw asked the golden tom.

"As long as it's Whitestorm who saves him from whatever may come, yes."

Thornpaw hurried off the clearing, exhausted. He'd waited so long to become a warrior! It's only Bluestar's - no, it's StarClan's fault! If Bluestar hadn't lost her belief in StarClan, she would have made them warriors - all of them. And not just Cloudtail, because he was Fireheart's apprentice, and Lostface, his dear sister, because she was dying, but also Swiftpaw, who was slaughtered brutally by the dogs, and finally him, because he'd proven himself many times.

_How can life in a Clan be so unfair?_, he thought as he'd sprung across the WindClan border and hurried onto the twolegplace. _Those kittypets have it so easy! They rule their dens from the beginning, and that's it. _Thornpaw knew that he would never become a leader, because he didn't have the character for it, or a medicine cat, because he was better off as a fighter.

And now, even when a new leader will be found, I can't be a warrior because Mousefur doesn't have a better thing to do than to get herself expecting kits!  
The golden apprentice couldn't believe it, and that was when his anger had burst, after Mousefur's announcement.

Would he even get a mate one day? He liked Tawnypaw a bit, but she was his cousin. The apprentice had also told him that she liked Rowanpaw from ShadowClan, even though she knew that she couldn't be with him. And his sister had Cloudtail, and Brackenfur would also find somebody soon, Thornpaw was sure of that. _My father is also dead, and my mother doesn't care a mouse about me. It's always only Cinderpelt, the medicine cat, Brackenfur, the future leader, Lostface, the injured one, and Lionheart, her lost love. _

Life was just so unfair for him! He sprinted off, and reached some sort of a small thunderpath. The stone tickled his paws, and he knew that if he'd always walk on this kind of floor, this soft pads would get hurt. Thornpaw didn't care, though, he just wanted to get out of there. The stupid, old, sick forest.

If he wouldn't become a warrior anyways, what would they need him for? Nothing, exactly. He was determined to start again, somewhere else.

Then suddenly he heard a cat's deep growl and he turned around.

"Hurry!", Whitestorm called, "I've got his scent! He's gone directly into twolegplace!" The three cats had moved along the RiverClan border, onto WindClan territory and now finally in the right direction. Mousefur and Longtail barely touched the ground anymore, so fast they ran. But the brown she-cat had to save her apprentice! _ He must be so disappointed of me_, Mousefur thought. _But why did he just run away? _

"Come on, Mousefur, we're almost there," her mate encouraged her and licked her ear. Mousefur purred and panted at once.

They approached one of the first twoleg dens that were there, as they heard a heart-clenching mew.

"Thornpaw!", Mousefur shrieked. Her apprentice, she had to save her apprentice. If he got killed, then Frostfur would kill _her_, the small she-cat was sure of that. But even before she was able to jump forward in direction of her apprentice, Whitestorm had already headed towards the noise.

Mousefur had always admired Whitestorm for his nobility, braveness, and good looks. But Willowpelt was her friend, and she had never intended on stealing the tom from her. It wasn't long that she's been mates with Longtail, it suddenly happened, but she appreciated even this short time all the way.

The dark brown she-cat let out a gasp when she saw Thornpaw fighting against a huge, black-and-white creature, that almost looked like a badger. Only by its scent she could recognize that it was a cat. _ShadowClan? No. WindClan? Neither. RiverClan? Definitely not._

Whitestorm turned around when he heard Mousefur panting even heavier, Longtail had to press against her shoulder to keep her standing.

Then suddenly, there was a huge noise and two cats were laying on the ground.

"Great StarClan, Thornpaw!"

The big white tom hurried forward, as quickly as his paws could carry him. He pressed his muzzle onto the apprentice's chest, to find that he was only unconscious. Whitestorm let out a deep breath. "Mousefur, Longtail, come quick! He's alright, I guess, Thornpaw has only been knocked out."

The two mates approached Whitestorm, and let their gazes wander above the sight before them.

"Oh StarClan… what happened here?"

Thornpaw's paws were full of blood, he had several scratches all over his body, one claw was missing, and his magnificent golden tabby fur was wet of blood.

Mousefur pressed her paw onto Thornpaw's body, to make sure that he was alive. "You're right, he's going to be okay…"

Meanwhile, Longtail examined the other cat. It was huge black-and-white tom, strangely wearing a collar, and one of Thornpaw's claws was hooked in one of the rings of the rogue's collar. "The other one…," Longtail whispered, "is dead! Thornpaw killed him! He strangled him! He actually did it, oh, when hedgehogs fly…"

"This is Bone," Whitestorm declared. "Tigerstar told me about this thing called BloodClan, they are simply some good kittypets gone bad, but they fear nothing. He's one of them, highly dangerous creatures… We can be glad."

Mousefur still didn't say anything. Then, suddenly, she buried her face in her mate's neck fur.

"Oh Longtail, I'm so relieved… I'm so glad Thornpaw's alive. I would have addressed reproaches to myself for eternity."

The striped warrior licked her ear. "Come on, let's carry him home. Fireheart and the others are waiting for us."

Then, when they were about to pick him up, Thornpaw let out one deep breath...

- and lay still.


	4. Four

**A/N: Thanks for the great support! Here is chapter 4.  
I know that this Silverstream thing upsets you all, but  
how mentioned before, it will be declared soon. Very soon.  
Now enjoy! And don't forget to review!  
**

_...Thornpaw let out one deep breath..._  
_- and lay still._

Fireheart returned to camp with his Clanmates, just to find Graystripe quietly talking to Silverstream near the Highledge, his own favorite spot to sit with Sandstorm. Silverstream sat very close to Graystripe, and her tail was draped over his spine. Fireheart purred to himself. He was so glad that Graystripe had, however, gained his lost love back. He just hoped for his friend that this wouldn't include any more disappointments.

Fireheart flicked his tail at Graystripe, who quickly approached him.

"So…?", asked Fireheart. "Oh, Fireheart, by StarClan, I can't believe this! This is better than everything that's ever happened to me. I think the only cure is talking to her, the remembers everything just when I mention it! She already told me she would fall in love with me immediately when she'd meet me now…", the gray warrior trailed off.

"Uh, that's great, Graystripe. I'm really glad for you. But please, get Cinderpelt and ask her about what she knows, alright?"

"Of course, Fireheart. I appreciate your concerns."

Then, the red warrior went to share tongues with Sandstorm in front of the warriors' den.

"It's a miracle, isn't it?", the beautiful she-cat asked. Fireheart purred. "Yes, I can't believe it either. It must be wonderful for him. But though, I'm glad I never had to lose you." Sandstorm also purred and licked her mate's neck.

"Do you think Whitestorm, Longtail and Mousefur have already found Thornpaw? It's taking so long!"

"Don't worry, he probably just… went away because he was disappointed. He doesn't even know the territory that well, he's probably just lost, and that's why it's taking so long." Fireheart really didn't want to upset his mate - his thoughts on Thornpaw were a lot worse. Why else would Whitestorm, Mousefur and Longtail have hurried off like they did, if there wasn't anything dangerous?

"I'm going to check on Silverstream. See, she's with Cinderpelt now! You're coming with me?", Sandstorm asked. "Of course", Fireheart purred.

"Okay, Silverstream, you'll have to eat these larkspur seeds twice a day from now on. Just talk to anybody who knew you, that'll help too. I think you should go see Mistyfoot tomorrow", the medicine cat lectured the lost she-cat, who just nodded her head.

"So, Mistyfoot is my best friend, and my cousin?" "Yes, she is. Crookedstar was your father, but unfortunately he died a few seasons ago. He hunts with StarClan now. And his brother was Oakheart. He and Bluestar, the former ThunderClan leader, had Mistyfoot and Stonefur", Graystripe explained quietly.

"Okay, got it", Silverstream replied, and suddenly knocked Graystripe off his paws. "Hey! What was that for?"

The gray tabby she-cat purred, and started to play-fight her mate. "I haven't had any fun in moons! Come on!"

Fireheart noted that she already looked a bit better than earlier, now that she had eaten some fresh-kill, as she hurried away to the Sandy Hollow with Graystripe.

Suddenly, a yowl sounded through the camp. It was Whitestorm's . "Help!", he called. "Get Cinderpelt! It's Thornpaw, he's unconscious!"

The fluffy gray she cat leaped forwards as fast as her crippled leg could carry her, and told the warriors to get Thornpaw into her den.

"Great StarClan!", Sandstorm shrieked. Fireheart knew how worried she could become if any cat wasn't alright, so he quickly guided her across the clearing, far away from the hurt apprentice, where Cloudtail and Lostface were giving each other tongue.

"Just talk to her", he whispered to his nephew. "Don't get her too upset."

After what seemed like hours, Cinderpelt, who was obviously exhausted, stepped out of the medicine den.

"He's going to be alright", she announced. All the warriors let out a deep breath, and Frostfur let herself sink to the ground. Thornpaw's mother had been pacing back and forth in front of Cinderpelt's den the whole time, too afraid to let go of her son. Brackenfur and Lostface quickly hurried towards her, as she licked Cinderpelt's ear. Fireheart heard Sandstorm's purr in satisfaction to see the family united again.

Just for a second he seemed to see a big, golden figure next to Frostfur.

Whitestorm, his shoulder wrapped in cowebs from his run through the forest, also padded out of the medicine den, and quickly approached Fireheart and his mate. "We can be lucky", he mewed. The ginger warrior was still confused - nobody had told him what exactly happened. Mousefur and Longtail had immediately gone to take a walk through the forest, when they had carried Thornpaw to Cinderpelt, Whitestorm had also been in the medicine den, and no other cat knew.

"Whitestorm, what exactly happened?", he asked the senior warrior.

"We don't know why he did it, but Thornpaw ran towards twolegplace, where this huge cat named Bone met him, and attacked him. Somehow, by the powers of StarClan, Thornpaw managed to… he managed to kill him", the white tom explained breathlessly.

"What? How?", Fireheart exclaimed. This was beyond unbelievable.

"Bone was wearing a collar. Thornpaw's claw got hooked into its ring, and he strangled him. Thornpaw was badly injured, though. We can be happy to have Cinderpelt… I know that she would have been an excellent warrior, but Yellowfang taught her well."

The ginger warrior nodded in respect at the older cat, and watched him as he made his way to his mate. The pretty gray she-cat stood in front of the nursery, their three little kits at her paws. Whitestorm immediately bent down and licked their heads, and then buried his face in Willowpelt's shoulder, whispering quietly to her.

Fireheart purred. He really hoped he would be so lucky to experience all this with Sandstorm one day, too. Then he turned around to face her.

"Come on, let's go to sleep", she mewed and licked his cheek.

When they pressed their way through the tunnel that led to the warriors' big den, Fireheart spotted Graystripe licking Silverstream's back fur clean from the sand. His eyes were filled of love, gently watching his mate's slender body, that rose and fell quietly. She was fast asleep.

"Hey", Fireheart whispered to his best friend. "So? How was it?"

"Indescribable", the gray warrior responded. "We play-fought a bit, and then we just sat down and talked. I told her how we first met each other, when you and I were at the river and she saved me. And I told her about her kits, our secret meetings, and finally, even about her death."

"Oh…", Sandstorm whispered. "That must have been hard for her."

"Yes", Graystripe mewed. "It was, but she reacted strangely quiet, just listening to me in silence. She even asked when she could meet them."

"Um, that's great, Graystripe", Fireheart exclaimed, "but when you asked her what happened after you buried her, she didn't say anything?"

"I did ask her, Fireheart, but she says all the remembers is not being able to breath, a lot of darkness, then feathers in a storm, and then she woke up by a river, far away from here. She walked around for many moons, until Onewhisker and his patrol found her. We'll have the thank him."

The red tom mewed in agreement. He still felt, despite all of the little fights between the Clans, a deep friendship for many WindClan cats. Onewhisker, even Tallstar, Morningflower and their son Gorsepaw, and Deadfoot. Not many knew that Tallstar and Morningflower were mates, but Fireheart had figured it out when he and Graystripe brought WindClan home, a few seasons ago.

"WindClan are good cats", he replied. "I'll look for them soon. Sleep now, Graystripe. It's been a long day."

The gray tom purred at his friend, and cuddled more into his nest next to Silverstream's. He put one paw and top of hers and closed his eyes.

A quarter moon passed, and neither Fireheart nor Cinderpelt received any dream from StarClan, which clearly exhausted them. He had been talking with Whitestorm, Graystripe, Sandstorm, and Cloudtail a lot about the prophecy given to him. He was really glad to have all these cats beside him, the ones he truly trusted. It had gotten awfully cold out in the forest, and Graystripe had received the permission to take over Silverstream's battle training.  
She had gotten out of practice during her moons alone out in the land, and now she was meeting up with Mistyfoot regularly, her mind clearly recovered.

Fireheart and Brackenfur continued Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw's training, along with Thornpaw. He had been released out of the medicine den two sunrises after the attack, and had been able to tell them everything:

He escaped because he thought he was going to be an apprentice forever, with no leader and his mentor in the nursery.  
Mousefur had indeed moved into it, and Longtail had gotten into a fight with Dustpelt because he clearly didn't mind his warrior duties that much anymore. The older cat just explained to him that one day the day would come that he'd have a mate expecting kits. Dustpelt, his fur hot of embarrassment, had hurried off on a hunting patrol with Fernpaw.  
Darkstripe hadn't caused any trouble so far, and Sandstorm played, along with Lostface, with Willowpelt's kits many times. The two cousins had discovered their liking for their former mentor's kits, especially Sorrelkit, already a pretty little she-cat.

One night, when Fireheart was fast asleep, he was woken up by a hard hit into his ribs. "Ow!", he mewed. "Shhh!", a she-cat responded. Yes, it was definitely a she-cat. "Come with me!", she mewed. Fireheart, dizzy from sleep, managed to get up in his paws. "Just follow me!", she hissed. He exited the den, careful not to step on any cat there, and stopped dead on his track when he saw that it was Silverstream, who had interrupted his sleep.

"What?", he hissed. "What in StarClan's name is so important at this time?"

"Just follow!", the pretty silver tabby she-cat repeated, and leaped forward, not turning around again.

Fireheart, unsure what to do, just ran behind her, noticing that she directed him more and more towards RiverClan territory.

_Oh no, _he thought, _will she join them again? That would break Graystripe's heart. _

But then, Silverstream stopped near the river and sat down.

"So?", the red warrior asked her, panting.

"Look!", she exclaimed, holding her silver paw up in the air, and trying to catch one of the new-falling snowflakes. She purred and started to play with all the flakes.

"Um, alright, Silverstream, the snow looks really nice, but is this really what you needed me for, here, now at this time?"

"No", she responded. "But Graystripe told me about the prophecy."

"Yes?", Fireheart asked.

"I know what it means."


	5. Five

**A/N: Oh, my StarClan. I'm so excited - in this  
chapter, the new leader will be revealed! But I  
guess you all already know who it is. ;-) I wanted  
to thank my awesome reviewers, your support still  
means a lot to me. Oh, and with this chapter, I'm  
still hoping for my big success! :-D Enjoy! **

_"I know what it means." _

Whitestorm padded out of the nursery. He, along with Sandstorm, and his mate Willowpelt, had been playing with their kits all evening long. He was very happy to see them grow all healthy and strong, but their energy could be exhausting at times.

The white tom walked across the clearing, ready to enter the warriors' den to get some sleep, when Brackenfur and his apprentice, Tawnypaw, crossed his path.

"Good night, Whitestorm," the younger warrior mewed and dipped his head in respect. "Hello, Brackenfur, I see you've been hunting!" Whitestorm remarked.

"Yes, Tawnypaw did a great job. She's able to do a hunter's crouch perfectly, and she even caught three mice! This leaf-bare is so cold, it's a wonder how she did that", the golden tom praised and shot a proud glance at Tawnypaw.

"That's great, Tawnypaw," Whitestorm mewed. "I'm very proud of you, Brackenfur."  
"What for?" Brackenfur inquired.

"For not judging."

The senior warrior woke up as he heard a cat's fighting sounds. Quickly, he got on his paws, just to notice that there were a few empty spots in the warriors' den. _Please, StarClan, don't let any cat get hurt! _Whitestorm hurried in the direction of where the noise came from, and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Cloudtail fighting Lostface.

_No!_, he thought, _why her? I always thought he liked her! Not my apprentice, not Brightpaw, please… _

Whitestorm was one of the many cats who still refused to call Lostface by her new name - it was not only terrifying for her, but also for every other cat.

The long-furred tom was hovering above the once-pretty she-cat, her belly exposed, and his seemingly unsheathed claws about to slash her sides.  
When Whitestorm was about to attack his fellow clan mate in attempt to help the she-cat, the incredible happened: Lostface moved her head back and forth, right and left, and Cloudtail looked obviously confused. Then, when she fixed her gaze in the sky, her hind legs went up and pushed into Cloudtail's stomach, making him screech loudly. The she-cat turned around and jumped on him from behind, only to bend down again and flip them around, giving the warrior's head a hard blow.

"Gotcha!" she mewed, and got on her paws again.

"Well done," Cloudtail purred, and started licking the injured side of her face. "No!" she instantly mewed.

"I know you think it's disgusting, so just… let go of me, okay?"

"Brightheart, I already told you that you are still beautiful to me. No matter what one _fox-dunged_ side of your face looks like! I- I love you, Brightheart."

_What a nice name, Brightheart. Brightheart. Brightheart. I wouldn't want to call my mate a cruel name, either. _

Whoever would become the new leader of ThunderClan, Whitestorm had to tell him to change Lostface's name to Brightheart. It had such a nice feel to it.

"Oh, I love you too, Cloudtail! I never thought you would say this…" Whitestorm heard Lostface mew, from the tree he was standing behind.

He gulped. That was really not a scene he _had _to witness. But if he fled now, they would hear him. So he'd just have to wait.

It was impressive for a tom like Cloudtail to love a cat like Lostface, no matter what she looked like. And even training her in battle! A wave of proudness for his clan mate overwhelmed him. It required a lot of inner strength to act this way.

"Of course I do, Brightheart. And one day, you'll get a new name, I promise. _This _name."

"And one day, I'll have your kits…" the she-cat whispered, as she pinned her mate to the ground again.

Okay, that was clearly enough for Whitestorm to quietly make his way back to the clearing, hurrying off into the forest to catch some more prey.

"Wait, you _know _what it _means_? Not just what it says? But what it _means_?"

"Yes", the she-cat mewed in annoyance. Fireheart had been struggling to believe her words for many heartbeats now.

"Silverstream, are you sure?"

"Yes!" the gray tabby shrieked. "Look…" The snow on the ground had become more and more, that one was almost not able to see the floor through it anymore. Silverstream put her paw into it. _The one who is invisible in the snow… _

"Am I invisible in the snow, Fireheart?"

"No," he retorted. "Then who is? Think, Fireheart!"

"Um… Frostfur, Cloudtail, and Whitestorm, they're white cats. But no! I don't want them to die… please…" he mewed, mostly to himself.

"Now who spoke of dying? _When the snow approaches, fire would not bear up against it and make ThunderClan have to fight._Now that's the most obvious part, is it?" Silverstream reached over, broke the ice on the river's surface and caught a fish.

"Yes," Fireheart murmured. It was still more than humiliating for him not to become a leader. "It's leaf-bare now, and ThunderClan would get destroyed under my reign… I know, Silverstream."

She had started to rip the fish in two, and pushed one half in Fireheart's direction. "Thank you," he murmured.

"Yes! But the question is… who is _the chosen one to make his way up to his warrior ancestors_? Fireheart, it doesn't mean that one cat is chosen to _die_. When you went to receive your lives, what did you do?" Silverstream asked.

"I- I made my way up to my warrior ancestors! By StarClan, Cloudtail, Frostfur or Whitestorm will be leader! But _who_?" he gasped.

Fireheart felt like bursting out if his fur in excitement. Finally the prophecy was being dissolved!

"Think, Fireheart, just think," the silver tabby mewed and caught another snowflake.

"_To share his experience with the cats of the forest_…?"

"Oh come on, you stupid furball. Who out of these three cats has got experience?"

"Um, Frostfur and Whitestorm, Cloudtail just not yet. But if it says _HIS experience_… Great StarClan, Silverstream! Thank you! You solved the prophecy!"

"Come on, let's go back to camp, then," she responded happily.

The ginger warrior and the silver she-cat hurried through the forest, looking like a blazing red flame that had silver sparks. Fireheart was utterly relieved not to lose one of his clanmates, well, just not yet, that is. But suddenly, a dark figure crossed their way.

"Darkstripe! What are you doing out here, at this time, near Fourtrees? Care to explain this?" the red tom commanded.

"You wish!" Darkstripe sneered and took a step back, about to attack. "Shhh, Darkstripe! It's alright. Please, just tell us. We don't want you any harm", Silverstream soothed, but Fireheart could feel her excitement. He knew she didn't trust the dark warrior either.

Tigerstar's friend took a deep breath, and mewed: "Alright, you caught me. I won't be part of ThunderClan any longer, I just can't be. ShadowClan will be my new home, there are my friends, and my faith. I'm sorry Fireheart, but I was just about to flee."

Fireheart made a face in confusion, unsure of what to say. "Um, if that's what you wish, Darkstripe, then what are you waiting for? If Tigerstar's alright with this, we'll see you at Fourtrees next moonhigh." "Thank you. Good luck," he whispered.

Darkstripe dipped his head, a gesture Fireheart had only seen him perform in front of Tigerstar. He was a good warrior, no doubt, but if his loyalties lay elsewhere, Fireheart wouldn't be the one to stop him. He noticed that Darkstripe looked back at them, when they stepped forward again. It must have been a weird scene, him and Silverstream coming from the RiverClan border in the middle of the night. But it didn't matter anymore.

"Let all cats of ThunderClan gather beneath the highledge!" Fireheart called. It was moonhigh, but he didn't care if everyone slept. They had to know this.

Slowly, all the cats started to step out of their dens, groggily. He could hear Cinderpelt sneer in annoyance, and Mousefur looked clearly exhausted. Willowpelt actually seemed quite awake, her three little kits bounced at her feet. "Mommy!" Rainkit mewed. "What's happening? I thought we were the only ones that are awake!"  
"Yes!" Sootkit agreed. "I want us to be the only ones!" "Shhhhh! Fireheart wants to say something!" Sorrelkit hissed, and Willowpelt licked her daughter's head. Whitestorm sat next to Graystripe and Longtail in the center of the clearing, while Frostfur stood around alone. The elders didn't make it further than the entrance of their den, and Dustpelt sat near Fernpaw, extremely close, in fact. Sandstorm and Brackenfur gathered next to Cloudtail and Lostface, while Tawnypaw, Bramblepaw, Thornpaw and Ashpaw were unsure of where to sit down. Fireheart saw Graystripe shooting confused glances at Silverstream, who stood left of the highledge.

"Sadly, a cat has decided not to be part of ThunderClan any longer. Darkstripe left to join ShadowClan, a choice we all approve of, I think," he mewed.

"Yes!" Cloudtail shouted. Longtail and Dustpelt coughed. "Fernpaw's new mentor will be chosen by the cat who becomes leader, another reason I have called you all here." Fireheart swallowed. Soon, it would be all over. No more announcements. No more hero-like acting. No more Fire_star_.

"I know that you all know of the prophecy I received!" he called. All the cats murmured in agreement. "I have called you to gather here, because I want to announce that with help of our friend Silverstream, who has gotten a lot better," a loud purring was heard - and everyone stared at Graystripe. "Sorry!" he mewed. Fireheart also purred in amusement. "Um, with the help of our friend Silverstream, I have been able to dissolve the prophecy."

A few cats gasped loudly, but the majority mewed nothing.

"I say these words before StarClan, that the spirits of our ancestors may hear and approve their solution.

The new leader of ThunderClan will be Whitestorm!"


	6. Six

**A/N: The number of reviews and suscribers  
has been increasing hugely, so thank you all!  
****Especially to misscuriosity2, Stormyfang502,  
and Lemonfur, who have been reviewing all  
the time - thanks for your support! I'm so glad  
that you're all positive to me, this really means a  
lot! In this chapter, more about Silverstream will  
be revealed, there's also more news for both Fire-  
heart and Whitestorm. Enjoy, R&R! **

_"I say these words before StarClan, that the spirits of our ancestors may hear and approve their solution. The new leader of ThunderClan will be Whitestorm!"_

Once again, just as they did when Fireheart had announced that he didn't get his lives, the entire Clan fell silent, and all their gazes on the chosen cat.

The magnificent white tom looked around, his eyes met Willowpelt's, who nodded at him in encouragement, then Fireheart's, who shot a proud, relieved, but also sad look at him. Whitestorm stared on the ground, took a deep breath, and swallowed, then, finally, his amber eyes met the sky.

"I - ", he set on, but it resulted in coughing. "I don't know what to say!", the tom exclaimed after heartbeats of more silence, breathlessly. When Fireheart started purring quietly, Whitestorm got on his paws and slowly made his way towards the highledge. Fireheart jumped off, and the two warriors sat down beneath it, their gazes circling their clanmates.

"Cats of ThunderClan, I am deeply honored. If one cat wouldn't have expected this, then it is myself. I promise I will serve this Clan with all of my strength for many moons from now on. I vow I'll try to be a good leader. Thank you Fireheart, Silverstream. _Willowpelt_", he mewed. "Thank you all."

Then, Whitestorm dipped his head in front of his Clan. This gesture caused all the cats to break out in cheering. "Whitestorm! Whitestorm! Whitestorm!"

Fireheart went to sit next to Sandstorm, who mewed in his ear "it'll be alright, I promise", and he shot her another sad glance. "Yes… it's finally over, all this struggling."

Willowpelt was one of the first cats who went to congratulate Whitestorm, her kits at their paws. The pale gray she-cat licked his muzzle affectionately, and purred loudly, while Sorrelkit and Rainkit cuddled to their father's paw, and Sootkit shouted: "Daddy's leader!"

"I'm going to have another litter, Whitestorm", Willowpelt whispered into his ear. The new leader's eyes widened in disbelief, but he purred even more.

"That's amazing, dear", he murmured back, but then Longtail, Brackenfur, Graystripe, and Cloudtail approached him, still purring and shouting his name, licking his fur. Frostfur and Goldenflower, along with Silverstream, were right behind them. Everybody in ThunderClan liked Whitestorm, and they were all relieved to finally have a leader - a leader that they were sure of that he would do his job wonderfully.

When all the tumult around Whitestorm had calmed down a bit, he finally went towards Fireheart. "I still don't know what to say."

"Well, how about 'that's great'?", the ginger warrior responded shortly. "I'm sorry, Fireheart. I know that this isn't easy for you, but I'm grateful that you let me know about all this, all of us. You may as well just have ignored everything and come back to tell us that you actually _were _the leader now. But you were honest, and StarClan will honor you for this. Just as I will. Fireheart, would you like to be my deputy?"

The red tom's eyes widened in surprise, and then he replied "I would appreciate that very much… Thank you, Whitestorm." "You're very welcome, Fireheart. If it wasn't for you… So now tell me, how have you learned that I would, uh, be the one? How did Silverstream know?"

"Um, well, Graystripe has told her about the prophecy I received, and then, one night she woke me, and took me to the river. Silverstream showed me the snow, and I- I don't even know how she did that, but she just told me what the prophecy meant, just as if I'd asked her what a mouse is! She just knew! After telling me that _making their way up to their warrior ancestors _didn't mean dying, but receiving their lives, Silverstream let me tell myself that it was you. See, you, Frostfur, and Cloudtail are white cats, thus_ the ones that are invisible in the snow, _but you're the only tom that has experience."

"A smart little she-cat, Silverstream. Graystripe can consider himself lucky! Horrible what happened to her… I hope that one day, she'll remember everything."

"Oh, don't worry, Graystripe mentioned that the best way of exercise for her is talking. And Cinderpelt has been giving her some herbs, too…"

Whitestorm stared up in the sky again. So many stars blinked down from up there, so many cats they'd all lost - but they were watching over them now. And soon, he'd be meeting nine of them again.

"White_star_, how does that sound?", he asked, mostly to himself, but Fireheart responded immediately. "It sounds wonderful. You'll make an amazing leader. And in fact, I'm not even that sad anymore… I don't think I could have handled leadership that well. Everything would have been just so different… I really like being a warrior. _Only _a warrior."

"Thank you, Fireheart. You know, Willowpelt and I are having another litter of kits, and I am so deeply honored in every way possible now… I'm the happiest cat in the forest", Whitestorm purred. "Along with Graystripe!", the red warrior quickly added. "Along with Graystripe."

It was a silent night. Every cat slept peacefully, tightly curled up with their mate, or friend. The stars were still shining down brightly on them, blessing their dreams.

_Fireheart padded across a meadow, similar to the one where he'd first met Bluestar in StarClan. Hello? Is there anybody? "Fireheart?", a cat called. He quickly turned around, only to spot a silver tabby she-cat. "Silverstream! We're sharing a dream? This doesn't happen that often, I think…" _

_Silverstream nodded her head, and looked around in confusion. "Where are we?" "I have no idea", he responded. _

_Then, the same blue-gray and reddish-brown figures from back then approached them again. "Bluestar! Oakheart!" _

_"Hello, Firestar, Silverstream", Oakheart mewed. The magnificent dark ginger tom stood before them, tall and muscular, and Silverstream touched noses with her uncle, too anxious to say anything. "Fireheart, we want to honor your nobility for respecting our choice, and I promise you, that we've made the right one._

_Silverstream, thank you for your immense honesty and your way of thinking. StarClan has done right by letting you live… You are still wondering about who dragged you away, aren't you? We will let you see…"_

_Silverstream took a few steps back from them, scared of what was coming. A whirlwind of colors appeared before their eyes, slowly sucking them in. Then, it was dark. _

_Two eyes cracked themselves open, but it was dark again. Dark, until a heavy pain was felt on the scruff. More light. More light. Then, the eyes faced two dark, amber-colored ones. The head was pinned to the ground, a silvery paw raised, only to fall down again. It smelt heavily like blood, and then there was another hard blow to the head, and everything fell dark again. The perspective changed. A huge, dark brown tabby tom with broad shoulders dropped off a kit near the river, and strolled through the forest for many heartbeats. A loud wailing was heard, and then, the tom made his way back to the river. A lot of sand and mud had been lifted, and draped messily over a cat's figure. The tom approached it, and quickly starting removing the sand from the cat, a she-cat in specific. His head neared hers, and recognized that she was alive. Barely breathing, but she _was _breathing. The tom's eyes grew wide, and he hit the she-cat's head to the ground, so that she fell unconscious again. With a mischievous grin, but also a sad spark in his eyes, he grabbed her by the scruff, and started dragging her upwards the river, farer and farer. She awoke once again, when they had trespassed WindClan's territory, and he let her drink water and eat a little piece of a mouse, then he blew her head straight to the floor again. A sunrise later, she awoke and looked around, and confusion was written in her face. The dark brown tabby tom raced back to the forest they came from, alone and not caring at all. One could sense that he did that out of his own sadness, because this she-cat had everything that he didn't have - a loving mate, and many cats who stood behind her. He sighed, knowing that what he did wasn't right, but he was convinced that no cat deserved happiness. _

Silverstream awoke abruptly. Her gaze wandered over all the sleeping cats in the warriors' den, her fur brushing Graystripe's who was sleeping soundly next to her. There was only one single cat, that was awake as well. When her eyes met Fireheart's, all the heavy last fell upon her again. _She remembered! _Now it was all clear. Now she knew who did this to her. _Tigerstar. _


	7. Seven

**A/N: I can't believe that I actually wrote a chapter  
that is 3,000 words! I tried to split it, but I couldn't.  
****It finally includes the leader ceremony! But enjoy,  
and read for yourself. What saddens me is that many  
people suscribe to my story and favourite me or  
'Unexpected', but they're obviously too shy to review.  
Come on! Would you want that? NO! So please, if you  
want to have a happy Brackenpaw, leave a small review,  
and don't only favourite. Well, not that you should not  
favourite at all, but ugh, you know what I mean! Now  
enjoy. This took me several days! But I'm so proud of  
this story, it makes me so happy that 1,000 people  
actually _read _this! R&R! ~Brackenpaw**

_She remembered! Now it was all clear. Now she knew who did this to her. Tigerstar. _

Whitestorm, Cinderpelt, and Fireheart stood at the entrance of ThunderClan camp. "It's time," the ginger warrior set on. "I guess," Whitestorm sighed. Despite knowing that he was the chosen one, the new leader couldn't deny that he was scared of what was to come.

"Cinderpelt, you both didn't forget to take your traveling herbs? And if Cinderpelt is too tired while going to the Mothermouth, stop by at Barley and Ravenpaw's barn, yes?"

"No, Fireheart, we did not forget to take them. Everything will be alright. We will be back by tomorrow," the medicine cat replied assuringly. She knew that Fireheart was afraid that things wouldn't turn out well again, but everyone else was sure that they would.

The entire Clan was soundly asleep in their dens, except for Dustpelt and Fernpaw, who should be sitting night vigil, but were talking permanently. Whitestorm smirked and noted that they were sitting together very closely, just as he always did with Willowpelt.  
Whitestorm had barely slept at all, so he'd gone to wake up Cinderpelt and Fireheart to get it over with.

_His leader ceremony_.

Soon, he wouldn't be only Whitestorm anymore. It would be White_star_, until the day he died.

He coughed. "So, Fireheart, go back to sleep now. You'll need to be fit for your deputy ceremony tomorrow!" The ginger tom purred at him and mewed:

"Yes, I will. Sorry. All my luck, Whitestorm. Cinderpelt." He touched noses with both of them, and returned to the warriors' den.

"Ready?" the dark-gray she-cat asked. "Ready," Whitestorm responded.

The sun had risen and fallen again when they arrived at Highstones. Whitestorm had caught several mice and a pigeon for them during their journey, but he could sense that Cinderpelt, due to her crippled leg, was even more exhausted than he was. Panting, she hobbled beside him.

"Are you excited, Whitestorm?" the fluffy cat gasped. "Excitement isn't even a word for it, Cinderpelt," Whitestorm retorted. Cinderpelt sighed and stared into the sky. "Will you be with me, will you witness it, too?" the new leader asked her.

"I don't know, but I don't think so. I couldn't see what Fireheart saw back then, so I assume I won't."

They made their way up to the entrance of the stone cave, and pressed themselves through the tight, winding tunnels. Whitestorm had been there only twice before, once before his warrior ceremony, as every apprentice had to travel there, and another time with his aunt, Bluestar, when she'd needed advice.

_I hope you can see me now_, he thought. But it was not only his aunt he wished to see, but also his parents, Snowfur and Thistleclaw.

"You alright?" Whitestorm asked his medicine cat, whom he wasn't able to see anymore. "Yes!" she called from behind him. "We're almost there."

Finally, it was time. The cave was filled with a silvery light, all coming from the Moonstone in the center of a hole in the ground. It wasn't that tight anymore, and Whitestorm's whiskers weren't touching the sides of the tunnels. The sky was visible, and many stars shone down brightly, just as they had the night before.  
"Lay down and touch your nose to the Moonstone. I'm right here. Good luck, White_star_," Cinderpelt mewed and looked assuringly at him. Her bright blue eyes shone in the light of the stone. Whitestorm recognized so much of her parents, Frostfur and Lionheart, in the small little she-cat. She had clearly inherited their kindness and bravery. "Thank you," he whispered as his body touched the cool floor.

There was a forest of questions he would have liked to ask Cinderpelt, but Whitestorm knew that they weren't allowed to talk until the ritual was finished.

Before touching his nose to the Moonstone, he looked up to the sky one last time. Things were never going to be the same, that's what Fireheart was right about. _Leader. He _would be leader. He, Whitestorm, would take over his aunt Bluestar's leadership and honor her until his last day, and all that within a matter of hours.  
Whitestorm admitted that Fireheart's fears weren't unusual - everything felt dizzy right now. He was just glad that the ginger warrior wasn't angry, sad or disappointed anymore. Every cat in ThunderClan knew that Fireheart's loyalties lied with his heart, and not with his Clan. He would make a very good deputy, though. _My thoughts are irrelevant right now!_

After taking one last deep breath, Whitestorm lowered his head onto his outstretched paws, and touched his nose to the Moonstone, waiting for StarClan to get him.

It was all dark. _Is that what death feels like? _Strangely, there wasn't any pain. He didn't feel any pain! Whitestorm had assumed that his current life would be taken away from him now… but there was nothing. He blinked one amber eye open, gasping in shock. Instead of the shiny Moonstone in front of him, there was a clearing, filled with night scents and growing flowers. A willow stood in the corner, and Whitestorm immediately thought of his lovely mate, wishing she could be with him now. But no, that was one thing he had to go through on his own.

He raised to his paws and saw Silverpelt on the night sky, the Great Rock at Fourtrees in front of him.  
_How did I get here? Cinderpelt didn't mention any of this! _Whitestorm stared up again, only to see the stars unusually closer to him than ever before, barely higher than the highest branches of the oaks and willows surrounding him. What he saw next made his blood run like liquid fire through his veins.  
_The stars were moving. _

They whirled around in front of Whitestorm's eyes, down to him, in front of his paws. The white warrior waited with a wildly beating heart, as all the StarClan cats descended down to him.

Frost glittered under their paws and in their eyes, their pelts were a shining light. They smelt of ice and fire at once, and of night.

Whitestorm ducked down in front of them, he was barely not able to watch any longer - but also not to look away at all. This was one of these moments he wanted to last forever, one of those things he wanted to keep forever in every single hair of his fur.

After a while, that could have been a hundred sunrises but also only one heartbeat - he didn't exactly know that, all the StarClan cats had approached him.

Their shining figures surrounded him, he was their centre. Whitestorm's usually bright shining fur was merely _white _when he stared down at his paw - he couldn't compete with his ancestors. But he didn't care. Looking around, he recognized many familiar faces. The medicine cats Yellowfang and Spottedleaf, his mother and Bluestar's parents Moonflower and Stormtail… and finally, cats he'd known very well himself, like Runningwind.

"Welcome, Whitestorm." The voice seemed to belong to all of the cats he remembered, but though it sounded clear like a single one.

"Are you ready to receive your nine lives?" He looked around, but no cat was speaking. He could do this. He _knew _it. They chose him! Why would he give up? He wouldn't. Ever. "Yes," Whitestorm finally responded. "Ready as I'll ever be."

A magnificent golden tom raised to his paws and marched towards him, his head held high in pride. Whitestorm recognized his dear friend Lionheart, who had been a few moons older than himself, and to whom he'd always looked up to.

"Lionheart!" he couldn't help but purr. Asking any question would be a bad idea, so he mewed: "I hope that you are alright in StarClan. We still miss you. _I _miss you." Lionheart didn't say anything, but purred back at him very quietly. He laid down his nose on Whitestorm's head, and whispered:

"With this life, I give you courage. Use it well to defend your Clan. And don't worry, we'll meet again."

Whitestorm closed his eyes. He didn't expect this to be a painless procedure, he never had, but what he felt was twice beyond his expectations. Like a lightning bolt, the freezing pain hurried through his body, but was gone as quick as it had come.

Lionheart stepped back, only to switch places with Brindleface. The gray queen had been in love with him at some point, but when he declared his love for Willowpelt in front of many other cats, she'd had Sandstorm with Redtail, and then Ashpaw and Fernpaw.

Her green eyes glowed with affection, and Whitestorm felt deep sparks of friendship. _Brindleface, Lionheart… who else would grant him a life?_

She bent down and also touched his head. "With this life, I give you kindness and patience. Use it well for the kits and other sensitive cats in your Clan", she mewed and quickly disappeared. This life didn't hurt. Even though a mother's protectiveness could be strong, kindness wasn't.

A big, gray-and-white tom with spiky fur raised from among the StarClan cats - but he was behind them, where it was darker. _Thistleclaw! _

"My son," he mewed in his deep voice. "You have achieved so much, even without expecting it all. You did everything I should have done, too. But I never did. I'm sorry, my son. With this life, I give you pride and ambition. I was one of those using those for the wrong purpose, but you can prove that you are mighty and that ThunderClan is strong. We will not see each other very often again, but I'm always with you."

Whitestorm's eyes welled up this time. His own pain coming from his childhood memories blocked out the pain that came from Thistleclaw's life.

"It's alright", he whispered so that it was barely audible. "I love you, father."

With one last glance into his son's eyes, Thistleclaw disappeared, but Whitestorm could feel a breeze of wind whispering his response: _Me too, always._

Then, the wind blew harder and a dark, long-legged tom approached him. "Hello Runningwind!"

Runningwind looked at him with his friendly gaze, just how he'd always done when he was still alive. "Tireless energy and swiftness is what I will gift you. Whitestorm, you're not the youngest among the warriors. Use it to keep up pace with them, you know you can do it!"

Runningwind happily touched his nose to the white tom's head, and he felt like running through a forest as fast as he ever had.

The lean tabby warrior switched places with one of the cats that Whitestorm was looking forward most to see again. The small, tortoiseshell tom with his signature bushy red tail had been his best friend. Redtail stood in front of him, almost _smiling_. "I knew you could do this. I knew it back then," he smirked, and Whitestorm quickly brushed his muzzle along his friend's forehead. "With this life, I give you justice and personality strength," the small tom proclaimed.

"You will need it to know what is right, but also to stand for your own opinions. Every cat will look up to you."

Whitestorm purred at him and mewed: "I really hope to see you again, Redtail. I miss you a lot." Redtail nodded his head and stood on his paws to touch the snowy warrior's forehead. This life hurt again, like many little snakebites on his chest.

The next cat who neared him was Featherwhisker, the medicine cat of ThunderClan before Spottedleaf. Whitestorm knew that they were related somehow - he had Thistleclaw's gray fur, his own amber eyes, and Whitestorm's son Sootkit looked identical to him. Featherwhisker had been kind and funny, just like his brother Sunstar, the leader before Bluestar.

"With this life, I give you patience, just as I gave it to your aunt. Healing needs a lot of patience, both mentally and physically. A leader's qualities _have _to include patience. You have a long life in front of you, Whitestorm," Featherwhisker chuckled.

When the medicine cat's muzzle touched his head, he felt as if he couldn't move any more. The pain numbed him, and it took a few seconds of patience to breathe again. The gray cat was replaced by another gray cat, who stood very close to him. Bluestar touched his nose with hers.

"My dear nephew… I knew it was right to choose you. We all felt utterly sorry to disappoint Fireheart that much, but you are the chosen one, Whitestorm. With this life, I give you nobility and bravery, which you do already have. You will prove yourself to be a noble leader, lead your Clan in the ways of StarClan and the warrior code."  
"Thank you," Whitestorm whispered, and blinked at his aunt in affection as she lowered her nose to his ears. A blizzard of pain shot through the white tom's bones and muscles.

Bluestar took a few steps back, and stood next to Oakheart and Sunstar, when a white, fluffy she-cat stood in front of the blue-gray leader. They touched noses, and finally she turned around to face her son. Snowfur soared towards him, his precious mother now just not only a mere memory.

"Mother," Whitestorm mewed breathlessly. The white queen purred at him so loudly that every cat could hear, and she rubbed her neck onto his, and licked his shoulder.  
"My dear son, oh how I've missed you! I'm so sorry that I was so stubborn, you were just a kit! I wanted to leave only once, and see where it got me. Never slight your Clan. I'm here to give you love and protection, dear. Use it well for every cat you like and for all the ones in your care, especially Willowpelt and your kits. Congratulations, by the way."

When Snowfur's head touched his, it didn't hurt in specific - it was a strength that flowed into Whitestorm, and he fluffed his fur when she released him.

"I'm sorry again, Whitestorm. I shouldn't have left you. I love you, and I'm always watching over you, just as your father is… but we're not together…"

"What? Why not? Will I see you again, too? Mother, wait!" But Snowfur was already behind the others again. Whitestorm's eyes welled up once again, but Sunstar stood in front of him now. He looked Whitestorm in the eyes, and yowled:  
"By the powers of StarClan, I hail you by your knew name. Whitestar! You have received the nine lives of a leader, and StarClan grants you the guardianship of ThunderClan.

Your old life is still… this does not occur often, Whitestar, but Bluestar sacrificed her last life. Fireheart sacrificed his leadership for you, and you sacrificed yourself for Thornpaw, but you succeeded. If there are three sacrifices by three different important cats before a new leadership, the leader will be granted his tenth life. Did you know that?"

Whitestar shook his head, and stared at Sunstar in disbelief. "It is one of the oldest traditions of StarClan, but it has not happened in many moons. So, defend ThunderClan well, care for young and old, honor your ancestors and the traditions of the warrior code, live each life with pride and dignity."

The golden leader dipped his head in front of the new white one, and he stared at him with wide, excited eyes.

The next thing that happened was like a warrior ceremony - all the StarClan cats cheered, yowled and purred his name to honor him:

"Whitestar! Whitestar! Whitestar!"

Whitestar saw his mother, and his aunt cheering in the background, while Redtail sat next to his mate Brindleface, and his sister Spottedleaf, all of them shouting in joy. Yellowfang had her tail twined with Raggedstar's, a mate that was now allowed, and Lionheart stood behind Sunstar, alone.  
Runningwind was there, too, somewhere, all of them - except for Thistleclaw. _Where was he? _ _Though we are not together, _his mother had said. Whitestar realized that this wasn't the time to wonder - he stared at all his beloved cats one last time, before it all started to fade and fade.

The new leader blinked his amber eyes open, finally in piece.


	8. Eight

**A/N: Hey everyone, here is already the next chapter.  
I can't believe that I already wrote nine chapters!  
The next chapter will up by tomorrow, I think -  
thanks to Icethroat21 and misscuriosity2 for the  
support, but people, come on, I know you can do  
better! Don't be that lazy - review please! And enjoy :-) **

_The new leader blinked his amber eyes open, finally in piece. _

He raised his head, recognizing that he was back in the cave. "Oh, StarClan, you're up! Did you get your lives?" Cinderpelt mewed excitedly, her blue eyes glowing. The white tom smirked. "Call me Whitestar."

The fluffy medicine cat raised to her paws, and leaped towards him, rubbing her muzzle to his forehead. "Congratulations!" she purred.

"Thank you" Whitestar responded. "Whoa, that was heavy…" "Really?" the she-cat asked. "Really. But something weird happened… Did StarClan ever tell you something about a thing called _three sacrifices_?"

"Um, yes, they might have mentioned it, why?"Cinderpelt inquired. "I, uh, might have… uh, been allowed to keep my old life because of this sacrifice thing."

The medicine cat gasped. "But that makes ten lives!"

"I know!" the snowy tom responded. "Has this happened before?"

"Honestly, I don't know… I'll ask StarClan when I'm here again at half moon."

"Alright… shouldn't we get going? I want to be back by sunhigh. There are some ceremonies that need to be done," Whitestar mewed, and raised to his paws, too. A strength was glowing deep within him, the strength of ten cats combined. And he could feel it.

"So, it was really Tigerstar who did that to you?" Graystripe asked. "For the thousandth time, yes!" Fireheart responded. He, along with Silverstream, had immediately told Graystripe about the dream they'd shared, the dream that had explained everything.

"We can be glad, in fact…" the beautiful silver tabby mewed. "I would have suffocated beneath the mud if he hadn't done that!"

"Oh, Silverstream, you're right. We _do _continue to hate him though, don't we?" the dark gray tom asked. Fireheart chuckled and nodded his head. "_I _for my part am just glad that Silverstream forgave _you _for burying her. _Alive_!"

The she-cat purred and pressed closely to Graystripe. "Of course I do. After seeing it all, I remember now. In fact I thought I was dead, too! Cinderpelt told me that sometimes cats' hearts stop beating and they stop breathing, but eventually it all starts again. It's not Graystripe's fault!"

"I still remember how depressed he was afterwards. He didn't even care that much that your kits lived, at the beginning!" Fireheart remembered. He was so happy that it was all over. "Speaking of kits, I hope I'll be allowed to go to the next gathering. I really want to see them! I asked Mistyfoot yesterday if she could bring them once, but she wasn't allowed do. Graystripe, does Featherpaw really look exactly like me?"

"Yes," her mate purred. "She's so beautiful, they both are."

Their conversation was interrupted when many cats started murmuring, turning their heads to the gorse tunnel at the entrance to the camp. There, two cats had just entered: Cinderpelt and… White_star_?

Fireheart looked back at Graystripe and Silverstream, and quickly hurried towards them. "You're back! How did it go? Whitestorm's eyes shone at him and he purred. "You'll know soon."

Cinderpelt lay down on the clearing, the sun reflecting in her fur. She was clearly exhausted from the long journey to Highstones and back.

The white tom had jumped onto the Highledge.

"Let all cats of ThunderClan gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!", he yowled. "As you all know, I went to receive my nine lives at the Moonstone yesterday. And, luckily, I did!" The entire Clan broke out in a loud cheering.  
"Whitestar! Whitestar! Whitestar!" The new leader beamed down on ThunderClan, on _his _Clan now.

Willowpelt's eyes blazed, and she purred loudly, her kits bouncing around and squealing their father's new name.

"Thank you all!" Whitestar mewed. "Now, I would like to move on to a few ceremonies…" He coughed quietly, and looked up again.

"I speak these words before StarClan, that the spirits of our ancestors may hear and approve my choice. Fireheart will remain deputy of ThunderClan!"

The ginger warrior, knowing what was coming, stepped forward. "Thank you, Whitestar. I promise I will do my best to serve this Clan, and I hope that I didn't disappoint you too much last time," he mewed, chuckling. A few laughters were heard, and he dipped his head, returning to his position next to Sandstorm, who licked his ear. "Fireheart! Fireheart!"

"Now… I would like to honor an apprentice that has proven himself brave and strong, and of whom I think that his warrior ceremony," several gasps were heard, "can be held without an assessment, because what he did was, unfortunately, more than one would ever expect from an apprentice. Thornpaw, would you please step forward?"

The golden apprentice was nudged forward by his brother, Brackenfur, with a gaze of disbelief on his face. Whitestar noticed that his daughter Sorrelkit was playing with Brackenfur's tail, but he didn't seem to mind, which was really confusing.

Whitestar tried to recall the words he'd heard so many times before, by Pinestar, Sunstar, Bluestar… and now he would be the one.

"Um, this is really long overdue. I, Whitestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as warriors in their turn. Thornpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Thornpaw looked around, until he finally found his sister Lostface's gaze, and then he looked up to the sky. He was obviously sad that he had to do this on his own, without both Lostface and Swiftpaw. Shivering, he responded: "I promise."

Whitestar couldn't help but shiver as well - Thornpaw was the first apprentice he would make a warrior. He really wondered whether the tabby would like the name he'd chosen for him.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Thornpaw, from this moment you will be known as Thornclaw. StarClan honors your independence and immense bravery and strength, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan!"

The newly-named Thornclaw beamed at him, and licked his shoulder as the leader placed his muzzle on Thornclaw's head.

"Thank you for going after me. You saved me," he whispered into Whitestar's ear. _Sacrifice_. The thoughts about the mysterious tradition didn't flow away! So he responded solely "I would have done that for every cat. Now it's your turn to prove your loyalty, and patience."

They let go of each other, and Whitestar yowled: "Before Thornclaw goes to sit silent vigil as the warrior code says, I have one ceremony left!"

Nervous murmurs spread among the cats, after Thornclaw's congratulations had silenced. Would somebody join the elders already? Or did somebody decide to become the medicine cat instead? Meanwhile, Whitestar thought back to one ceremony performed twice in his youth, with Halftail and One-eye.

"Lostface, would you please step forward, too?" The pretty she-cat widened her eye in disbelief, and she let go of Cloudtail, whose tail had been entwined with hers, and of her littermate, whom she had been congratulating. Now they both purred at her in surprise.

"Spirits of StarClan, you know every cat by name. I ask you now to take away the name from the cat you see before you, for it no longer stands for what she is. By my authority as a Clan leader, and with the approval of our warrior ancestors, I give this cat a new name." Lostface gasped loudly. Never had she thought to be honored that much! Whitestar recalled the name Cloudtail had called her when he caught them, uh, battle training.

"From this moment on she will be known as Brightheart, for though her body has been gravely injured, we honor her brave spirit and the light that shines on within her!" The leader lowered his head onto his old apprentice, and she licked his shoulder, just as she would have done during a normal warrior ceremony.

"Don't you ever think that I'd forget about you," Whitestar mewed into her ear. Brightheart leaned back, and Cloudtail was immediately at her side; they both looked baffled. "How, by StarClan, did you know?" Cloudtail asked, not even letting Whitestar respond. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" the white warrior mewed, entwining Brightheart's tail with his once again, not caring that the whole Clan was watching.  
"I am the leader now," Whitestar smirked. "I have to have my sources, don't I?"  
"Thank you, Whitestar," Brightheart mewed quietly. "You don't know what this means to me. Now all the cats won't be that ashamed to talk to me anymore!"

The thick-furred leader purred at them, and shouted: "Brightheart!" all the cats doing the same, especially her siblings Brackenfur, Cinderpelt, and Thornpaw. Her mother Frostfur approached her quickly, licking her fur.

When everything had calmed down, Whitestar entered the nursery. "Care to take a walk with me?" he asked Willowpelt, who sat close by the entrance of the den. She had probably already been waiting for her mate, and responded by nodding enthusiastically. She shot a gaze back into the den, and the leader spotted that their kits slept soundly on top of Goldenflower, who was also asleep.

The pale gray she-cat and Whitestar quickly pressed themselves through the den tunnel, making their way over the clearing and out of camp.

"They looked so peaceful there," Willowpelt mewed. "I hope StarClan blesses us with never taking them away from us."

Whitestar stared at his mate, sucking in every second of being with her. "I love you," he instantly mewed, pressing his neck to hers.

"I love you too, White_star,"_ she whispered back. "So tell me. How was it? We haven't really talked, since…"

"It was… unforgettable. And a bit painful. And confusing. And breathtaking. And relieving… it was _everything_," the white tom murmured, still not letting go of Willowpelt. "Did you meet many of them? Did they talk to you?" she wanted to know.

"Yes. All of them. All of the ones that we lost, that were important to us. I know I'm not supposed to tell you this, but Sunstar mentioned something about 'three sacrifices', and somehow, I… I was allowed to keep my tenth life. I have ten lives, Willowpelt."


	9. Allegiances

Allegiances

ThunderClan

Leader - **WHITESTAR** - large, magnificent white tom with sparkling amber eyes

Deputy - **FIREHEART** - handsome ginger tom with a flame-colored pelt, green eyes

Medicine Cat - **CINDERPELT** - fluffy dark-gray she-cat with blue eyes and a crippled leg

Warriors - **FROSTFUR **- pure-white she-cat with dark blue eyes

**LONGTAIL** - pale tabby tom with black stripes, a long tail, and blue eyes

**DUSTPELT** - dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

**GRAYSTRIPE** - long-furred dark gray tom with a darker stripe running down his spine, and amber eyes

**SANDSTORM **- small, sleek pale ginger she-cat with pale green eyes

**SILVERSTREAM **- beautiful silver tabby she-cat with shining light blue eyes, formerly of RiverClan

**CLOUDTAIL** - long-furred white tom with blue eyes

**BRACKENFUR** - handsome golden tom with green eyes

**BRIGHTHEART **- white she-cat with ginger patches, a scarred face, and one blue eye

**THORNCLAW** - golden tabby tom with blue eyes and a battle-scarred flank

Apprentices - **BRAMBLEPAW** - very muscular dark brown tabby tom with deep amber eyes, Mentor: FIREHEART

**TAWNYPAW **- dark tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes, Mentor: BRACKENFUR

**ASHPAW** - pale gray tom with darker flecks and green eyes, Mentor: DUSTPELT

**FERNPAW **- pale gray she-cat with darker flecks and green eyes, Mentor: LONGTAIL

Queens and Kits - **WILLOWPELT **- pretty, very pale gray she-cat with unusual blue eyes, mother of Whitestar's kits

**SORRELKIT **- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

**SOOTKIT **- light gray tom with amber eyes,

**RAINKIT**- dark gray tom with blue eyes

**MOUSEFUR **- small dusky gown she-cat, expecting Longtail's kits

**GOLDENFLOWER **- golden she-cat with green eyes

Elders - **SMALLEAR **- gray tom with amber eyes and small ears

**SPECKLETAIL **- light tabby she-cat with green eyes

**DAPPLETAIL ** - once-pretty tortoiseshell she-cat with a lovely dappled coat

**ONE-EYE **- white she-cat with only one eye

- **THE ALLEGIANCES OF WINDCLAN, RIVERCLAN & SHADOWCLAN ARE THE SAME ONES AS IN THE DARKEST HOUR! -**


	10. Nine

**A/N: Hey everyone! So I got 30 reviews now!  
Woohoo! Thank you all! I hope that you're not  
too disappointed with me that the last chapter  
was only the Allegiances, but they needed to be  
done sooner or later. Anyways, I see so many  
ones of you that suscribe, favourite, alert or  
whatever, and then don't care to leave a review.  
And that's pointless, folks. It really is.  
Um, this chapter involves a few ceremonies, and  
says more about ThunderClan's life under a new  
leadership. As always, it ends in a cliffghanger! :-)  
****And as always: Read, Review & Enjoy! -Brackenpaw **

_I know I'm not supposed to tell you this, but Sunstar mentioned something about 'three sacrifices', and somehow, I… I was allowed to keep my tenth life. I have ten lives, Willowpelt." _

Whitestar stared at his mate, who hadn't said anything in more than a hundred heartbeats now. "Willowpelt? Are - are you alright?"

"Huh? Um, yes. Of course I am! It's just that… I've been thinking about why they did that, and I have come to a conclusion", the she-cat announced.

"And that is?", the leader inquired.

"Well, StarClan wanted to make sure that you will never leave me. Us! All of us five, and the ones yet to come."

The white tom purred and entwined his tail with Willowpelt's, who leaned her well-shaped head on his strong shoulder. They stared up at the stars without any word, cuddled close together because of the night's leaf-bare coldness.

The next three-quarter-moon in ThunderClan went better than it had in years. Everyone appreciated Whitestar's leadership, as he was kind, understanding and strong. Nobody missed Darkstripe that much, and ShadowClan had been unusually peaceful. Fireheart was all busy organizing patrols, but not even closely as busy as he'd been during Bluestar's last moons of life. And he got great help from both Graystripe and surprisingly Brackenfur, who took his warrior duties very seriously - Whitestar thought that he would also make a good leader one day.

Sandstorm on the other side was always either on hunting patrols, or in the nursery. ThunderClan only sent the best hunters out during leaf-bare, as they didn't want to waste any time and they really needed prey. All the she-cats really enjoyed visiting the nursery - Mousefur's belly had grown properly and by now she couldn't hunt for herself anymore. Longtail was at her side permanently, and the Sandstorm, Brightheart, Fernpaw and Tawnypaw loved to talk to her during her pregnancy, as they were excited about what would maybe expect them one day, too. Willowpelt had already partly returned to her warrior duties.

Sorrelkit was still small, but Sootkit and Rainkit were about Ashpaw's size by now. They had already turned six moons old that day, so they could expect to become apprentices very soon.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!", Whitestar yowled. His kits, knowing what was coming, were pushed out of the nursery by Willowpelt. They all had a very well-groomed fur - the queens had been giving tongues to the kits all morning long.

"I want Sandstorm to be my mentor! Or Brackenfur, he's sooo handsome!", the leader heard his daughter mew to Fernpaw. They had become very close friends during the last moon. "I want somebody strong, like Longtail, or Thornclaw. Is it really true that he killed a bone?", Sootkit asked Willowpelt, who responded laughing. "No, you little furball. He killed an evil _cat_ named Bone. But remember, true warriors don't kill cats just like that. Only if there's no other way of surviving yourself", she mewed. "But whoever your mentor will be, they will teach you every little thing of the warrior code."

"That's so cool!", Sootkit squealed. "Hush, now, your dad wants to announce something!" Rainkit stood next to his brother, his head raised proudly.

"We all know that Darkstripe left ThunderClan for good. Fernpaw, you have been training with Dustpelt for the last moon, but now that you're in your final phase of apprenticeship, you'll need a mentor only for yourself. Longtail, I know that Mousefur's kits are due soon, but until then, Fernpaw will have passed her assessment. Please pass everything Darkstripe has taught you, and would have taught Fernpaw, to her."

The pretty gray apprentice's eyes gleamed in excitement of becoming a warrior soon, and she went to touch noses with Longtail, who was proud to receive an apprentice again. Swiftpaw's death had hurt him deeply - they had not only been mentor and apprentice, but also friends.

"Now, I proudly announce that my own kits have finally reached their sixth moon. Sootkit, Rainkit, and Sorrelkit, would you please step forward?"

Sootkit bounced towards the center of the clearing, while Rainkit strolled there proudly, and Sorrelkit did some sort of soaring. She shot excited glances over to the warriors.

"Sandstorm, it is time that you receive an apprentice. You are a very valuable hunter for ThunderClan, and I'm sure that I taught you well", several laughs were heard, "and that I picked the right apprentice for you. Sorrelkit, your name will be Sorrelpaw from now on. I'm very proud of you, so don't exhaust Sandstorm too much." The newly announced Sorrelpaw fluffed her pretty tortoiseshell-and-white fur, and went over to Sandstorm, who purred happily.

The two she-cats touched noses, and Whitestar knew that a very special bond would link them forever.

"Rainkit, from now on you will be called Rainpaw. Prove your strength and faith with Cloudtail as a mentor, who will hopefully pass on everything Fireheart has told him to you", the leader mewed, staring proudly at his son.

The long-furred white warrior, who had not expected to become a mentor, shot forward with a gleam of happiness in his eyes, and touched noses with Rainpaw. Then, Cloudtail quickly guided him over to Rainpaw's sister, and Sandstorm.

"And finally, Sootkit, from this day on you will be known as Sootpaw. Thornclaw, you are still young and have only been a warrior for a moon, but you showed enough courage and skills to receive an apprentice. I hope you will honor Mousefur's knowledge and pass it on to Sootpaw."

The golden tabby warrior purred, greeted his new apprentice, and they all went to sit in one corner of the meeting.

"It is not always wise to appoint many unexpected mentors, but while Fireheart, Longtail and Dustpelt still have apprentices, too, it will be alright. Now, we all know that the Gathering is tonight, and Fireheart will tell you later who is going", Whitestar mewed, and leaped off the Highledge.

After one long moon of waiting, ThunderClan was more than excited to tell the other Clans who their new leader was. Whitestar finally told his deputy who would go to the Gathering: "Fireheart, you'll go, and Bramblepaw, along with Graystripe and Silverstream. She'll be excited to finally meet her kits! Then Thornclaw, as he's a new warrior, Cinderpelt of course, Frostfur, Brightheart and Cloudtail, Rainpaw, Sootpaw, and Sorrelpaw, along with Sandstorm, and also Willowpelt. She hasn't talked to all the other queens, uh, I mean warriors, in moons! Goldenflower probably doesn't want to go… Tigerstar's going to attend anyway, I understand that she refuses. Longtail wants to stay with Mousefur, and Dustpelt and Brackenfur will guard the camp along with the remaining apprentices."

"Alright, Whitestar, I'm already off telling them!", the ginger deputy mewed, and hurried away. Whitestar smirked at the younger tom's energy, that was still as constant as it had been on his first day in ThunderClan. Strangely his own ability to move, hunt, run had increased incredibly since his leader ceremony, he thought that it was because the lives of nine other strong cats now slept within him.

When it was almost moonhigh, Whitestar led his Clan through the forest. It was incredible how peaceful it had been lately in ThunderClan - there was nobody fighting, nobody arguing, nobody complaining - well, except for the elders a little bit. But even they were content with Whitestar as the leader, as they'd already known him when they were still warriors themselves.

Finally, the Clan arrived at Fourtrees. WindClan was already there, and RiverClan was just arriving in between the trees. Fireheart bent forward, and whispered "Good luck", in Whitestar's ear. The leader responded with a purr. _What could possible go wrong now? _

Willowpelt leaped forward and stood proudly next to her mate. "We'll do this together, alright?", she mewed to him.

Tallstar said something to his senior warriors, and then jumped onto the Great Rock where he sat down. Whitestar had always admired Tallstar, for both his wisdom, loyalty, and his strength. Leopardstar sneered at a young apprentice, who Graystripe immediately recognized at his son.

He had been walking, their tails entwined, right behind Whitestar and Willowpelt, with Silverstream. They were both whispering permanently - Silverstream couldn't be more excited. "Oh no…", the gray tom mewed. "What is it?", his mate inquired. The two had fallen back in love quite rapidly, and the whole Clan knew about this. Now that the last disloyal cat was out of ThunderClan, nobody seemed to mind Graystripe's betrayal - mating with a RiverClan she-cat - that much anymore. They had accepted her as a full ThunderClan cat now. It was for good - there were very few warriors in their Clan now, and RiverClan had plenty. Mistyfoot's four kits had just been made warriors recently. "Um, you'll see soon, Silverstream", Graystripe replied.

Whitestar turned around to face his Clan one last time before descending down to Fourtrees. "Okay, ThunderClan, are you all ready?"

"The question is whether _you _are ready, Whitestar!", Bramblepaw mewed, and Whitestar's kits mewed in amusement and approval.

"Uh, yes. Actually you're right, Bramblepaw, and yes. I guess _I _am ready."

They quickly made their way through the last remaining trees. Then, Tallstar's gaze met them. Fireheart noticed that he was walking right next to Whitestar and so were Frostfur and Thornclaw, so they couldn't know yet _who _was ThunderClan's leader now. In fact, they couldn't even know whether they had a leader at all. When they had all gathered on the clearing surrounding the Great Rock, ShadowClan came through the trees on their territory.

"Hey, Fireheart! Graystripe! Great StarClan, was that really Silverstream last moon?", Onewhisker asked his ThunderClan friends.

"Indeed", the gray warrior mewed, and pushed his mate forward. She blinked her pretty blue eyes at the WindClan tom.

"Whoa", the brown tabby exclaimed. "How could this happen? I mean, hi! Are you alright now, Silverstream?"

"Yes", she mewed quietly. "I've been regaining most of my memory in the last moon. Graystripe has helped me by talking to him, and Cinderpelt made me eat some herbs she also gives to the elders when their brains get, uh, worse. I've also been meeting up with my friend Mistyfoot, so, yes…"

"That's great!", Onewhisker gasped. "And do you have any idea who…" Graystripe quickly exchanged a look with his mate, and she nodded. They pressed closely against each other, and then Silverstream mewed: "It was Tigerstar." This resulted another gasp from the friendly WindClan tom.  
"He unburied me, which he luckily could do, because Graystripe didn't do it right", Silverstream nudged Graystripe's shoulder, "he might have scented or heard that I was still breathing. He dragged me upwards the river and knocked me unconscious many times. Due to my head injuries, I lost my memory. It all comes back when somebody mentions something. Anyways, I walked through many territories for moons. Until _you _found me. Thank you, Onewhisker."

"I-it was a pleasure!" To change the subject, he quickly asked them what Fireheart, who had been standing next to them, expected him to ask from the beginning: "Does ThunderClan have a leader now? Who is it?"

Fireheart only mewed: "Oh, believe me, you'll see in a few heartbeats."

Tigerstar and Leopardstar were on the Great Rock now, too. The dark brown tabby leader, so similar to his friendly son, sneered:

"Would the _great new leader _of _great _ThunderClan do us the _pleasure _to join us here?"  
Whitestar licked his daughter's ear, and then suddenly let go. He leaped and landed on the Great Rock with ease.  
"Hello, cats of all Clans. We have been able to dissolve the prophecy. In fact, it was Silverstream and Fireheart who did. So, I would like to introduce me to yourselves again. I am Whitestar, leader of ThunderClan."


	11. Ten

**A/N: Hey y'all! Sorry for letting you  
wait so long, but I've been kept up  
with some other projects, as you might  
have seen. So, this is the 10th chapter  
now, and I can promise you that it'll  
end in a MAJOR cliffhanger that leaves  
you open to many spectaculations. As  
****you might now, I'm just not that content  
with some events in the books and how  
they played out, and that's what my story  
****is for - to undo them or just change them.  
I also reread the Erin Hunter Chat #7, and  
I was like 'eeek!' when I read that there will  
be a forbidden relationship between two med  
cats in Sign Of The Moon. JayXWillow anyone?  
R&R & enjoy! - Brackenpaw **

_"Hello, cats of all Clans. We have been able to dissolve the prophecy. In fact, it was Silverstream and Fireheart who did. So, I would like to introduce me to yourselves again. I am Whitestar, leader of ThunderClan."_

Gasps were heard from everywhere around the Great Rock, and they didn't stop until Tallstar finally dipped his head.

"I thought you would make a great leader. Welcome, Whitestar! I hope that you will be with us for many moons," the black-and-white tom mewed.

"Thank you, Tallstar. That's a pleasure," the leader of ThunderClan replied.

Strangely, Tigerstar hadn't said anything. He was just staring at Whitestar with no emotion in his deep amber eyes. It was probably because Whitestar never did anything wrong to him - they had even been friends when they were in the nursery together so many moons ago.

Leopardstar looked around, and took a step back. "I- I hope you will do alright as a leader. Welcome," she mewed in a small voice. The spotted she-cat obviously knew that Whitestar was much more powerful than she was.

"Okay, so that now this is declared, I would like to announce that ThunderClan has gained a new warrior, Thornclaw. He saved us all from a brutal cat named Bone that lives in Twolegplace!"

Thornclaw raised his head and looked around proudly, some RiverClan and WindClan, and even ShadowClan apprentices and young warriors approached him and mewed their congratulations.

"Also, we have three new apprentices, Sootpaw, Rainpaw, and Sorrelpaw, my own kits, and their mentors are Thornclaw, Cloudtail, and Sandstorm. Lostface's name has been changed into Brightheart, because it no longer stood for what she is now."

Cloudtail and Brightheart stared up to Whitestar affectionately. He knew how much this meant to both of them. Several shouts of Brightheart's name were heard.

"Fireheart will remain deputy, and Silverstream has made incredible progress in regaining her memory. As many of you might already know, Darkstripe has decided to join ShadowClan. ThunderClan hopes that he will be alright," the leader continued and pointed his tail in direction of the dark tabby warrior, who sat proudly next to Blackfoot at the foot of the Great Rock. Darkstripe shot Whitestar a somewhat friendly look, and nodded his head.

"Prey is running well in ThunderClan, despite the harsh leaf-bare. Mousefur will have her kits within the following moon, and Willowpelt will move into the nursery again soon. That was it from my side," he mewed and sat down, sighing. _Huh. Now that was alright for my first speech as a leader_.

Leopardstar and Tallstar told something about some new warriors, too, and their Clans were well fed. Much to all of their surprise, Tigerstar reported that, except for Darkstripe's arrival, nothing had changed in ShadowClan.

"Fine. If that is everything, I would like to close this Gathering," Whitestorm mewed proudly, dipped his head, and leaped off the Great Rock.

New murmurs spread among the cats, as they were now allowed to speak again. Fireheart's gaze met Graystripe's, who sat closely next to him.

"You should go now," he mewed to his friend. Graystripe nodded in agreement.

Finally, he guided his mate towards two smaller, but very familiar gray figures. The apprentices turned around, their eyes wide.

"Graystripe! Father! Is she here? Oh, StarClan, what-"

Just as the gray tom had done in front of Onewhisker, Graystripe stepped aside, letting his kits have a full view of their mother.

Featherpaw, the identical image of Silverstream, leaped forward without any hesitation and pressed her muzzle to her mother's neck.

"Silverstream... I'm so glad to finally meet you! We thought you were dead! I always knew you were with us..." the pretty silver she-cat mewed.

Her son, Stormpaw, stayed behind at his father's side. They all, except for Featherpaw, were lacking any words.

When Silverstream retracted her neck from her daughter, she mewed, tears in her eyes: "Hello... my kits.."

Graystripe purred quietly, and Stormpaw finally stepped forward, too, to greet his mother. It was a moment no one of them would ever forget.

After they had calmed down, the gray-striped apprentice asked Silverstream in a small voice: "Who did this to you? How were you able to... survive?" She dipped her head to lick her son's ear.  
"It was Tigerstar, dear. StarClan made me and Firestar share a dream where they explained it. This fox-hearted crow-food unburied me - well, that's the part I'm grateful for, and knocked me unconscious again many times, until I had lost my entire memory. I awoke very far from here, near the river. A WindClan patrol found me, as you know. And now... I'm in ThunderClan."

An amazed and disbelieving gaze was on the pretty she-cat's face. For her, it was incredible to finally meet her kits; the kits she'd never thought she'd see, the kits she _forgot _about.

Featherpaw stood very close to Silverstream, silver tabby fur touching silver tabby fur. "Will you stay there forever?", she inquired.

Graystripe and his mate exchanged a glance. "I... I don't know, kits," the tom mewed. "But possibly. RiverClan won't take me in again after I told ThunderClan about the attack, you remember, but Silverstream and I don't want all this to be a secret anymore..."

The she-cat nodded her head and touched Graystripe's muzzle. "Yes... it can't be forbidden anymore. Mistyfoot and Stonefur will look after you, and we'll see each other many times, I promise."

Featherpaw and Stormpaw seemed to understand, and relief sank down Graystripe's spine. They were reunited now, and they would be forever.

Graystripe turned around to see Whitestar talking to Leopardstar. _This is my chance!_, he thought, quickly leaping off toward them. "Leopardstar! Whitestar!" he called. The two leaders quickly approached him, a questioning look on their faces. "Um, as you know Silverstream just met our kits for the first time really, and, uh, I was wondering whether you would let us spend the evening together. Us four, I mean?"

Whitestar purred and nodded his head. "From my side, yes, of course, Graystripe… What do you say, Leopardstar?" Fluffing her neck fur in annoyance, she mewed curtly: "Fine." Graystripe let out a deep breath and dipped his head in front of his leader, but shot the RiverClan leader just a glance.

He ran towards his family again, and they vanished through the bushes. His _family_.

Fireheart watched this contently. He wondered when the time when Sandstorm and he would have a family would come, but he never saw Cinderpelt's longing gaze at him as he approached Sandstorm, said goodbye to Onewhisker and Mistyfoot, and strolled towards ThunderClan territory, tails entwined with his pale ginger mate.

Almost a moon passed. One sunrise, Whitestar was woken by loud yowling, and he nudged Willowpelt awake. She had been sleeping soundly in their nest in the leader's den. The white leader had already gotten used to sleeping in his own den, but with Willowpelt and sometimes even one of their kits with them, it didn't feel that lonely. He quickly emerged from the bracken den, and saw Longtail hurrying over to the nursery.

"Mousefur is having her kits!" Sandstorm called. She was apparently guarding the nursery from any intruders, just in case. Whitestar gave Willowpelt a reassuring nod, and she made her way over to her former home as well. She needed to be there for her friend, and she had also gone through kit-birth already. The pale she-cat would be a great comfort for the smaller brown one.

Willowpelt pushed herself, and her growing belly, through the entrance of the most peaceful den in ThunderClan. Mousefur was laying in her soft nest, that Tawnypaw had carefully stuffed with more feathers from a thrush before. Panting heavily, the dusky queen yowled: "Great StarClan, if that is what kit-birth's like, that's the first and last time!" Mousefur exclaimed another gasp, until Cinderpelt, who was crouching at her belly, murmured: "Okay, Mousefur! You're ready now. I guess you will be having three kits, so you need to be strong! Just look into Longtail's eyes. It'll soothe the pain."

_How would she know?_ Willowpelt asked herself. Anyways, she also bent down to shoo Tawnypaw from the nursery. "That is something you don't have to see now, Tawnypaw," the queen whispered to the tortoiseshell apprentice, who nodded her head. Willowpelt bent down and held a water-soaked patch of moss to Mousefur's muzzle, who drank thankfully. Longtail, who sat beside her head, had an even more scared look in his eyes.

"It'll be alright, Longtail. I remember how Whitestar behaved when I-" the gray she-cat set on, but she didn't finish. Her soothing speech was interrupted by Mousefur's loud wailing. Her contractions had probably increased a lot now. "Now, Mousefur! Push!" Cinderpelt meowed.  
Longtail clenched his face, and his paw held its position on top of his mate's. Then, a small bundle finally touched the nest. "Willowpelt!" Cinderpelt commanded. As she was told, Willowpelt quickly nipped the kit sac, and started licking its fur the wrong direction to keep it warm. "It's a she-cat," she whispered in astonishment. The small kit didn't wail, and her pretty light-brown and white dappled fur was very long. Willowpelt placed her to Mousefur's belly, whose eyes widened at the sight of her first kit. "Mousefur! We have a daughter!" Longtail whispered and licked the dusky brown she-cat's head. "She's so pretty," Mousefur panted.

"The next one is almost out!" Cinderpelt warned, pressing her paw to her patient's belly again. "Push now!" The kitting queen screeched, and this time it took longer until the next kit came. But Cinderpelt nipped the sac herself this time, and also placed the new kit at Mousefur's belly. "Another she-kit," Longtail announced. Mousefur purred so loudly that Willowpelt was sure that they'd hear even outside the nursery.

"Now the last one!", the medicine cat announced. "Come on, Mousefur! You can do it!" Longtail pressed his muzzle to his mate's ear and whispered things Willowpelt couldn't hear. She was now excited to see the last kit herself. "I _do _want a tom, Mousefur," Longtail joked. Panting, his kitting mate shot him an evil glare. "You can be glad _you_ don't have to do this, and you actually dare to _request _things? Ugh!", Mousefur exclaimed.

Cinderpelt rolled her round blue eyes in annoyance, and mewed: "Let's get this over with, Mousefur! Push harder!" Finally, after a lot of more wailing, Mousefur gave birth to Longtail's last kit. It was a small dusky gray, almost black tom. She let out a deep breath, and Longtail jumped to his paws. "Yes! We made it!" he shrieked. "Shut up," his mate mewed. "Okay, so _you _made it. Content now?" "Yes," Mousefur responded.

"Congratulations…" Willowpelt mewed to her friends, but they didn't hear her. "I love you," Longtail whispered, licking their kit's heads. Willowpelt quickly sneaked into her own nest in the nursery she barely used. She really wanted to witness them naming their kits.

"I want to name the first kit Oakkit," Longtail requested. "She looks so fragile but also so strong, just like Oakheart was, remember?" Mousefur purred in agreement and nuzzled the pretty she-kit's white-and-light-brown pelt. "Alright. But I get to name the second she-kit," the queen mewed.

It was a black-and-white dappled kit with a striking resemblance to Swiftpaw, Longtail's former apprentice and good friend, who died tragically. "Swiftkit."

Longtail's eyes started glowing and welling up. "Really? For _him_?" he asked. "Yes, really," Mousefur responded. "Thank you…"

"Okay, and the last kit? The tom?" the brown she-cat asked. Willowpelt could see that he'd opened his eyes already. They were as big and blue as Longtail's.

The pale tabby tom thought for a bit, and then his face lit up. "I know the perfect name, Mousefur. This is Crowkit."


	12. Eleven

**A/N: Hola! I'm so sorry that I didn't  
get to update in a week, but as you  
see I've been busy with a few One-Shots,  
e.g. "Flaws" - a CrowXLeaf one. Maybe  
you've read it already, I know it's weird  
to say but I'm actually very proud of it. :-)  
So I'd be delighted about every review!  
This is the 11th chapter, and, uh, well,  
more action is to come in the 12th one.  
A few things happen here, too, though.  
****Read, review & enjoy! **

_The pale tabby tom thought for a bit, and then his face lit up. "I know the perfect name, Mousefur. This is Crowkit." _

Longtail was laying in Willowpelt's nest in the nursery. As he had been spending there a lot of more time than the she-cat, she'd let him sleep there so that he could be with his mate and kits all the time. Three sunrises had passed since they'd been born, and Oakkit and Swiftkit had also opened their eyes.

While Oakkit's big eyes were of the same hazel color than her mother's, Swiftkit's were the brightest amber Longtail had ever seen - well, maybe except for Swiftpaw's. The tom was still mourning over his dear apprentice's death; but he would never admit that, not even to Mousefur. Sadly Swiftpaw hadn't visited his old mentor in his dreams in moons, a thing Longtail was really worried about.  
_Why won't he talk to me anymore? Is he disappointed? I thought he'd be happy for me; proud of me that I'd finally opened up to some cat! _But nothing.

Whitestar and Willowpelt pushed themselves through the tunnel that made the entrance of the nursery. The leader was about to see the Clan's new kits for the first time - he sensed that immense proud feeling from Longtail, the feeling he'd felt, too, when his three kits had been born.

"Congratulations, Longtail, Mousefur!" he called, even if he could not see the couple and their new offspring yet. Willowpelt purred, but meowed nothing, as she'd been present at the kits' birth. "Thank you!" Longtail replied as Whitestar and his mate finally approached them.

The white tom purred, and bent down to look at their friends' newborn kits. Willowpelt had been right; Oakkit was truly a very pretty she-cat. Crowkit, the only tom, tumbled around and mewled quietly, while a black-and-white she-kit was sleeping peacefully by Mousefur's belly.

"What is her name again?" Whitestar inquired. "Swiftkit," Longtail replied, his eyes glowing with pride. "Oh!" the leader exclaimed. He had not expected that they would name one kit after Longtail's deceased apprentice. "That's, uh, very thoughtful of you two."

"Thank you," Mousefur meowed, and tucked Swiftkit closer to her with her tail. "I'm a bit glad that it's finally over, you know, and that they are finally here with us, but there was much more silence at night without them," she chuckled.

"I understand what you mean," Willowpelt sighed, and bent down to give her chest a few licks, right at the spot where her belly expanded, so that it looked almost painful. "But having kits is one of the most wonderful things a she-cat could experience."

"Toms, too!" Whitestar and Longtail exclaimed at once, eliciting a few chuckles from their mates. "All right."

"How many do you think you will have, Willowpelt?" Mousefur asked. "Well, Cinderpelt is sure that there will be two little furballs, but I've been feeling only one heartbeat down there," the pretty queen mewed. "We'll just have to wait, though."

Suddenly a small pale gray figure burst into the nursery. "Longtail! I- I need to talk to you. And Whitestar, too, I guess," Fernpaw panted.

"Uh, yes?" her temporary mentor sighed. "What is it, Fernpaw? Can't you say this in front of Mousefur and Willowpelt? I don't really want to leave now," Longtail mewed, tucking his tail under his chin, and staring lovingly at his kits.

Fernpaw rolled her green eyes, that hid a spark of fear. "I guess."

"What is it, Fernpaw? You can tell us," Willowpelt soothed the small apprentice.

"I need to become a warrior. Right away!"

"I'm _definitely _not going to train with you, Fernpaw," the pale tabby tom sneered. "I'm sorry, but we've been training a lot lately. Why do you want to become a warrior _now_?" It was true. Whitestar noted that the apprentice had been training with Longtail for several hours every morning, while Mousefur was still asleep. She was basically ready to become a warrior, along with her littermate, Ashpaw, but why would she want that _now_?  
Whitestar twitched his whiskers in worry.

"I - I just have to! Me, along with Ashpaw."

"Why?"

"I _have to_!" she yelled.

"Hush, Fernpaw," Mousefur meowed quietly. "Calm down. Whatever it is, just tell us! It's just us four here. Your mentor, your leader, me, and Willowpelt. What could be so embarrassing that you couldn't say it in front of her? She's been through everything! Dark Forest, Willowpelt mated with her _brother_!"

Willowpelt gasped, and Longtail let out a _mrrrow _of amusement. "Haven't lost your temper, have you?"

Fernpaw shot her an evil glare, and Willowpelt stared at her paws. "Patchpelt was _not _my brother! My mother took him in - "

"It's not about _that _now, is it?", Whitestar interrupted, clearly annoyed of his mate's former relationships. "Fernpaw. Just tell us. Come on."

"Fine," she whispered. "Well, Cinderpelt happened to… she happened to look over all the apprentices today morning, and I-"

"You what?" Longtail inquired.

"I'm ha-…." The she-cat didn't have to finish.

"Are they Bramblepaw's?" Mousefur shot out.

"Mousefur!" Willowpelt exclaimed, seemingly shocked by Mousefur's guess. "They're hopefully not Sootpaw or Rainpaw's?"

"Willowpelt!" Whitestar gasped. He hadn't thought that his mate believed that Fernpaw was actually having kits, too!

"No," the apprentice murmured. Longtail was the only one who hadn't said anything.

"Fernpaw, is that true?" her mentor asked in a very small voice. The pretty small she-cat nodded her head.

"Great StarClan…"

"Um, alright. Fernpaw? You're probably notbreaking the warrior code, let me think. You would be if they were an other apprentice's kits. Are they?" Whitestar asked.

She shook her head. "Okay, and they are hopefully not your mentor's either?"

That caused Fernpaw to finally talk, and Mousefur to look very relieved, as she mewed: "Of course not!"

"Fine. Then you haven't done anything wrong, Fernpaw," Willowpelt meowed. "Does _he _know already?" The apprentice shook her head, trembling a little bit around. "Apprentices _can't _have kits! They just can't!" she burst out. "Whitestar, I need to become I warrior _now_, or I'll be humiliated for the rest of my life!"

The leader's eyes went wide - he had certainly not expected such think. "I understand, Fernpaw. It surely must be difficult for you…" he trailed off, his gaze sweeping around until it finally focused on her belly. It was unusually big already, for a pregnancy that had just recently been discovered!

Willowpelt seemed to notice this, and she shot her mate a worried look. "Fernpaw, how far along are you?"

"A moon."

"Oh."

"Hmmm."

"Uh, well, Fernpaw, I've seen you fight against Ashpaw and the other apprentices just yesterday while you were battle training with Dustpelt," Whitestar set on, but he didn't seem to notice the flinch that came at the dark tabby's name. "So, I think I could manage to have your hunting assessment just now!"

The senior apprentice's pale green eyes widened even more, and she leaped toward her leader, affectionately licking his shoulder. "Thank you, Whitestar! Thank you so much!"

Mousefur chuckled from her nest, and Fernpaw pulled back. "Oh, sorry…" she murmured, clearly embarrassed about her sudden act.

"It's all right," the magnificent white tom replied. "Longtail, do you think we can have Dustpelt with us during the assessment? Do you want to stay here?"

"I'd like to, actually. And yes, of course I'm fine with that. He is an excellent mentor," the pale tabby tom replied, earning just another flinch from Fernpaw.

"Well, then let's hurry off! Fetch your littermate and Dustpelt!" the leader called enthusiastically. He wanted to lighten the mood as good as it was possible. The last of a pregnancy was heaving on Fernpaw's heart, and even Whitestar could feel her bad conscience for mating with a warrior from a fox-length away. She didn't even have any parents to turn to anymore! _Redtail and Brindleface, where are you? Your kits need you! _

But maybe it was fate; maybe Fernpaw had fallen in love unconditionally and was ought to be the most loyal queen of all the Clans. Everyone would be fine with that, too. There had always been this cloud of gentleness surrounding her… _This cloud_. _Yes! That's the perfect name!_

Whitestar licked Willowpelt's ear, and purred at Longtail and Mousefur before exiting the nursery. Fernpaw was already waiting for him, alongside Ashpaw, who was standing to her left, and Dustpelt, who happened to be grooming… her ear. _Oh. _

"Hello, Dustpelt," the white leader meowed. "Um, so you're…?" Fernpaw quickly shook her head. "We're what?" the loyal warrior asked. "Never mind."

By the time sunhigh had almost turned into twilight, an exhausted Whitestar lay down in front of the Highrock. Fernpaw and Ashpaw had done excellently, although Fernpaw's movements had been a bit slow - Whitestar ignored it on purpose, and praised her for the three mice, the vole, and the thrush she'd caught, just as Dustpelt did. _Permanently. _Ashpaw had still seemed a little confused why they were having their hunting assessment all of a sudden - Fernpaw had probably not told him yet, either.

Whitestar heaved to his paws, and jumped on the Highrock. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath Highrock!" he called, and the already familiar movements of his Clan occurred. Some of them slowly and some quickly, they met all their Clanmates at the peaceful clearing.

The leader took a deep breath - these were only the second and third apprentices he was going to make warriors, and anxiety was still flowing through his paws. He quickly recalled the words he'd heard so many times before, and thought about the names he'd chosen for the two siblings one last time. _I hope they like them_, he thought.

Whitestar noted that Mousefur was not present, and neither was Willowpelt, their quiet babbling could be heard in the silence of the Clan meeting, and occasionally even the kits' mewling. Sorrelpaw, Sootpaw and Rainpaw sat huddled closely together next to Brackenfur, along with Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw. The dark tabby apprentice's eyes shone with his father's mischief, but also with his mother Goldenflower's gentleness. The pale queen lay behind them, her gaze focused on the setting sun, Frostfur next to her. Whitestar felt a heavy feeling of deep loss and love coming from them. Fireheart and Sandstorm were sharing tongues with Cloudtail and Brightheart, and also Graystripe and Silverstream.  
The silver tabby she-cat had a happier look on her face than Whitestar had ever seen it.

"I call you here for probably to most enjoyable thing a leader could imagine," the white tom purred, while his Clan flicked their ears in attention. "Longtail, Dustpelt, do you believe you have taught your apprentices well enough? Are they ready to join those here?" Whitestar inquired, pointing his tail toward Fireheart's group. Dustpelt's eyes went wide and he pressed closely onto Fernpaw, who nuzzled her brother Ashpaw's ear. "Yes," Longtail meowed loudly so that everyone could hear. "Very well. Ashpaw, Fernpaw, would you please step forward?"

The apprentices' pale gray fur shone brightly in the setting sunlight, the darker flecks on it dazzling like deep water. They looked so much like Brindleface in that moment that Whitestar clenched. _Their mother would be so proud of them. So irrevocably proud, but she never gets to see them again. _

"I, Whitestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn," he meowed. Ashpaw's dark blue eyes sparkled up to him. "Ashpaw, Fernpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your lives?" Whitestar asked.

"I do," they responded at once. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Ashpaw, from this moment you will be known as Ashfur. StarClan honors your bravery and your strength and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan. Fernpaw, from now on, your name will be Ferncloud. StarClan honors your fierceness and your gentleness and we welcome you as a full warrior and queen of ThunderClan."

Murmurs spread through ThunderClan. "Why is she already a queen?" Sorrelpaw asked Brackenfur, who twitched his tail. He didn't seem to know either. Ferncloud and Ashfur bent down to lick Whitestar's shoulder, and the newly named queen quickly approached Dustpelt. "Why…?" he set on, but didn't have to finish.

"I'm having your kits, Dustpelt!" Ferncloud purred loudly, for every cat to hear.


	13. Twelve

**A/N: Good evening everyone! :-)  
I really appreciate every alert, and  
every favorite, but reviews are just  
the cream at the top, you know? :-)  
I have reached 40 by now, but 50 is  
my goal for the next TWO chapters.  
The 50th review gets a plushie of a  
cat of your choice and a chapter de-  
dication! :-) So be alert.  
As I said, in this chapter, MAJOR things  
are happening, that are quite unexpected.  
But that's the title of this story, so be pre-  
pared for UNEXPECTED! Read, review & enjoy!**

_"I'm having your kits, Dustpelt!" Ferncloud purred loudly, for every cat to hear._**  
**

Tigerstar shut his eyes, purring contently as he rolled up in his warm nest in the leader's den. In his dream, he started off with catching the biggest squirrel he'd ever seen, racing through the forest; not letting any piece of prey escape him. Then, he reached unknown territory. _What is this place? I've never been here before. _

A star shone down brightly at him, a shadow approaching him from his right. The star neared, the streaks of light turning into paws, russet-colored paws….

_Oh no. Not again. Please. _

"Tigerstar, my dear!" a sleek black she-cat meowed, rubbing her cheek to his. The dark ginger tom stood next to them, licking the she-cat's ear, and Tigerstar's forehead. "Don't call me that! I didn't give you permission," the dark tabby leader snarled.

"Come on, I remember how you loved cuddling up while we were still in the nursery, dear," the she-cat purred, giving him an affectionate glance.

"How are you doing, son?" the lighter tom inquired, pressing up closely to his family. "Your mother and I have missed you. StarClan didn't give us permission to meet you in moons!"

"You walked in my dreams two moonhighs ago," Tigerstar responded, pulling back uncomfortably. "Don't you remember?"

His parents rolled their eyes, purring quietly. "Come on, let's lay down here. We have much to talk to you about…"

The leader did as he was asked, and let himself down to the soft moss. That was definitely one part he missed about ThunderClan - ShadowClan's territory was much too dry, hard, and muddy. The other things he missed about his old Clan would not remain a secret for such a long time anymore…

"My dear, horrible things will happen within your Clan. You will suffer yourself from them, I'm sorry," Leopardfoot meowed. "But anytime the rules change, you don't know how they change you…"

"What do you mean?" Tigerstar growled. "We can't say. But loss will haunt your Clan, loss will haunt _you_," Pine explained.

"No!" the dark leader exclaimed. "Not Goldenflower! Not the kits! Please, if you can do anything-"

"We were speaking about_ your _Clan, Tigerstar. The Clan you lead. But if your loyalties lie elsewhere…" Leopardfoot flicked her tail in confusion, even though she seemed to know what her son was truly feeling.

The next sentence that came out of his father's muzzle changed Tigerstar's life forever:

"But if there is one thing that is sure, Tigerstar, then that is that you will never be the same cat again."

The leader widened his eyes, and jumped to his paws. He couldn't bear it any longer - what was StarClan doing to him?

"You don't have any right to punish me! _You _were the one who abandoned his Clan, _Pine!_" he growled. But his father let out a _mrrow _of annoyed amusement.

"Tigerstar, if there are any cats you could show the shame you're feeling, it's us," Leopardfoot whispered.

"Well. No," Tigerstar meowed. "Anyways, is there a way I can prevent all these, _things_ from happening?"

"Some of them yes, others you wouldn't even want to." That was his father speaking again. "Could you _stop that_, please? I'm a powerful leader! I still have my nine lives, the lives _you_ gave me! Sometimes I wonder if I should even continue to believe in all this," Tigerstar exclaimed.

"You know you do, and you always will," the she-cat murmured. Tigerstar could not deny this, and he wouldn't. So the tom remained silent. "You are a kind cat, Tigerstar. Deep inside your heart you are, and no cat can deny what they truly are. Use the kindness you have left, it'll be for your best."

"So? What is there ahead of me?"

"Change, son. Change." Tigerstar slowly began to feel annoyed. _What game are they playing? But they were right about those rules. How will this change me?_

Deep inside of him, there was fear. Who was he going to have to lose, to let go of? But there was nothing. Not the slightest suspection.

"_Three sacrifices could always save you, Tigerstar…"_

Pang. He awoke after a hard blow to his head, that was caused by a dark ginger apprentice. "Rowanpaw!" the leader hissed. "Don't you have eyes in your head? Or have my warriors scraped them out already?" The smaller tom flinched, obviously scared of the punishment that was expecting him now. "I- I am so sorry, Tigerstar! I just returned early from my hunting patrol with Darkstripe, and I decided that I could deliver you some fresh-kill and new moss for your nest," he stuttered.

"Oh."

The leader's face softened, and he let out a deep breath. Looking down, he saw a squirrel that was almost identical to the StarClan one in his dream. Rowanpaw had done an excellent job catching it! It was fat, and almost as big as the apprentice himself. Coughing, he started talking to Rowanpaw.

"No, _I _am sorry for yelling at you like that. Thank you. Is everything alright in camp?" he inquired, still worrying about what his parents had told him.

"Well, yes," Rowanpaw meowed quietly. "I guess so. Russetfur and Blackfoot broke up, though. They had a fight, and he's limping now."

"Oh," Tigerstar repeated, flicking his tail. Hopefully his deputy would be alright.

He released Rowanpaw with a somewhat friendly twitch of his ears, and exited the den without eating the squirrel. Tigerstar didn't feel any hunger at all, as all the upcoming problems of ShadowClan gathered in his stomach. He had to go find Darkstripe now.

As Tigerstar pushed his way out of the thorny bush that made the leader's den, he felt more lonely that he did in moons. _What is wrong with me? _

His friend Darkstripe was sharing tongues with his new flame in front of the warriors' den, and Tigerstar decided not to disturb them.

Sighing, he turned to take a walk. _I wonder what Goldenflower is thinking about right now. If she knew how much _I _am thinking about her, would she wonder why? _

Being on his own reminded Tigerstar of his earlier days, the days he'd spent happy but own his own, in ThunderClan. Realizing that all the evil plotting destroyed him, the tom decided in this very moment to try to become a better leader for ShadowClan. _Horrible things will happen within your Clan… you will suffer yourself from them._

The leader shivered, all the earlier thoughts running through his head all over again. _Who will die? Will _I _die myself? Please, just not my family. Not them._

He slid through the camp entrance, and padded across the muddy woodland, stalking a dove that was flying unusually low to the ground, and slowly.

_Every single being in this forest is haunted with issues_, Tigerstar thought grumpily. _Do they feel as lonely, too? _

He leaped off, gripping the poor bird with his paws and killing it with a swift bite to its neck. Tigerstar wondered if it always went like this; death. One single act by another, and you're gone. He hadn't lost a life yet, but Scourge, a strange small cat from Twolegplace had offered to collaborate with his Clan to take over the forest. When Tigerstar had been shown Scourge's manners of punishment and rules; he'd still had time to decline or accept, and then, the ThunderClan drama had started.

A half-moon later, he'd told Scourge to go hunt foxes. _What does death feel like? I've done it to so many. Who will do it to me? _

Tigerstar inspected the dove, but never noticing the remains of rare-looking, pale yellow berries in the bird's beak. Opening his jaws, he took a huge bite of it.

The leader looked around, taking in all the nice atmosphere of the forest while biting his meal, the dove between his huge tabby paws. _When will this change of mind arrive to me? What did mother and father mean? _Tigerstar swallowed, and bent down to take the next bite. A few heartbeats later, everything went blurry.

_Oh, what a rare day this is! I have to go find Russetfur. I need to tell her I love her! But she's limping, isn't she? Or was that Darkstripe? No, I love Rowanpaw. He was _so nice _to me this morning! I miss ThunderClan. I'll need to rejoin them. Now. _

Tumbling, and as good as he could, Tigerstar padded his way toward the ThunderClan border, that was the Thunderpath. _Oh, I need to find them all now! Look at those birds! They have the same color as Goldenflower. I wonder if she's had the kits yet! _

He tried focusing at one point on the ground, clearly noticing that something wasn't right - a mighty leader as him _did not _have such ill-minded thoughts. Staring at a small boulder, it suddenly turned green in front of Tigerstar's eyes. _Oh no_.

_I need to find ThunderClan, now! I miss them! Why don't I feel hungry? I haven't eaten in ages!_, he thought, his vision all dislocated. It must have been the berries!

Horrified, he could already see his destination: the Thunderpath. Just a few more paw-steps, and he would be reunited with them all!

_Thud thud thud. _

His heavy paws touched the ground with every step, and made small noises on the increasingly grass-covered floor. Just a few more, right here, he was right there…

Touching the rough dark gray floor that stank of monsters, Tigerstar didn't waste another heartbeat to think and leaped off, towards the border.

_Pang. _


	14. Thirteen

**A/N: This is the 13th chapter! I can  
assure you that in the next... um, let's  
say FIVE chapters, more major changes  
will happen within ThunderClan, and  
these are the chapters I was looking  
forward most to write! Well, maybe  
except for Whitestorm's leader cere-  
mony, that was great, too. :-)  
Anyways, 4 reviews missing till I dedicate  
the 14th chapter to somebody! And don't  
forget about the plushie of your choice you  
get! ;-) The 14th chapter is also going to be  
mostly Tigerstar's point of view, which is  
gonna be pretty exciting to write, as it's got  
really much StarClan involved. :-DI wanted  
to thank Swiftbreeze, Lemonfur, Lifepaw,  
Csenge, misscuriosity2, and PianoGirl24  
(Leafdapple) for their great support, that really  
means a lot to me! Oh, and this chapter gets a  
lot more tragic than most. It has almost 3,000  
words, so ****you can see that I was really inspired. :-)  
R&R & enjoy! **

_Touching the rough dark gray floor that stank of monsters, Tigerstar didn't waste another heartbeat to think and leaped off, towards the border. Pang. _

Filled with anger, Blackfoot sprang to his huge paws, as good as he could. _How could she do this to me? _The deputy and the she-cat Russetfur had been happy together ever since they'd followed Brokenstar into his exile, and now he'd caught her about to cheat on him with another tom! And all that just because she'd seemed to be annoyed about his increasing evilness, how Russetfur called him all the time.  
But Blackfoot couldn't help being such good friends with Tigerstar and Darkstripe! He and his mate had gotten into a fight quickly after, that caused him to limp now. _Great_.

Blackfoot wondered when things were going to smooth down again between him and his she-cat; after all, Russetfur was still _his _she-cat. He'd sworn to make her deputy of he becomes leader, but that seemed unlikely now. The deputy _did _love Russetfur with all his heart, but he was really hurt.  
_It can't be my fault! But she didn't do anything… yet. _

Quietly hissing, he leaped off and decided to go hunting for a bit on his own, maybe he'd get better thoughts then. Looking around, Blackfoot didn't see any cat near him, and he started to pad toward the ThunderClan border; he knew that there was much prey because all the small animals fled from the Thunderpath.  
The warrior had to withdrew a shiver from the thought of the Thunderpath; it had only been five moons that Whitethroat had found his peace and way to StarClan there. Blackfoot prayed to StarClan that if _he _died one day, it would be out of sacrifice for somebody he loved. His son Rowanpaw would be proud of him, Blackfoot was sure of that.

The deputy dragged his jet-black paw across the dry floor and shuddered from the cold. The snow had gone, but it was still unmistakably leaf-bare. Spotting a frog hiding behind some fallen leaves, he bent down into a hunter's crouch. _Soon it will be mine_, Blackfoot thought, the dry taste of the frog already in his mouth. About to leap off and catch it, Blackfoot suddenly heard a twoleg-monster's gasp, a loud pain-filled growl, and the sound of a huge blow.

His eyes widened, and he heard a cat move behind him. Opening his jaws to take in the scent, it was Russetfur. "Come on! Someone's hurt!" he called, without turning around. Hurrying toward the horrible smelling stone-made path, he spotted a dark brown tabby figure lying motionlessly on the hard floor.

"It's Tigerstar, Russetfur! We have to help him, come on!"

When he didn't hear a sound from his mate, he turned his white head around. Russetfur had curled her lip, and nodded her head. "I'm so sorry, Blackfoot. I just wanted to make you jealous. I never intended to hurt you in any way," she meowed, pointing her tail to his leg.

"No, I'm sorry, Russetfur. It's me who turned to some ways that I… never wanted to turn to. I love you," the deputy responded, and quickly licked her ear, eliciting a purr from the she-cat. "Let's go now! It's all right. He'll need our help!"

The russet-colored warrior pressed up to the tom to support his shoulder, their tails intertwined. "Oh, great StarClan, he's bleeding all over!" Blackfoot exclaimed. "Let's waste no time!"

With a last loving glance at her mate, Russetfur stepped a paw-step forward. "I love you, too."

Blackfoot followed her, quickly catching up with Russetfur, who was now in the middle of the Thunderpath. Padding up next to her, they could make out an increasing, disgusting sound. The two cats pressed up closely to each other, they knew it was over.

Returning from a patrol with Brackenfur and Thornclaw, Whitestar settled down in his den. Some rays of the sun peeked through the small branches, making his fluffy pelt feel comfortably warm. He spotted the two brothers play-fight at the clearing, just as they had done when they were still small kits. _Lionheart would be so proud of them. _The sight of Thornclaw's battle-scarred flank made Whitestar clench. He'd never had to suffer from injuries that severe himself, a rare thing for a cat that lived in a Clan. The young warrior had proven immense bravery when battling Bone.

Brackenfur had his mouth wide open, hissing and purring out of joy, giving his brother's ear soft blows. The tabby warrior responded by pulling his leg from Brackenfur's, making his older littermate fall flat on his back, and the golden tom's blue eyes twinkled with mischief as he got up and flung at his brother again.

Sighing, Whitestar rested his head on his paws. Every so often he'd wondered what it would have been like to have littermates or younger siblings, but his mother had died too soon, and his father had turned evil after losing his mate. _We can't be together, not even now…. _

Wondering what his parents had meant with these strange-sounding speeches, Whitestar wondered whether it was also up to him to change this.

Apart from all the things Willowpelt said to him, his father's 'I love you, son' during his leader ceremony had been the most touching sentence Whitestar had ever heard.  
_But if they weren't happy here in ThunderClan, why can't they be happy in StarClan, where they should be resting in peace, surrounded by the ones they love? _

His gaze fell back to Brackenfur and Thornclaw. The white leader was sure that they would make excellent senior warriors one day, and loving, caring mates and fathers. If he was honest, Whitestar had always envied all the toms who had brothers to battle-fight, hunt, or also just talk with. Sunstar and Featherwhisker, Crookedstar and Oakheart, Redtail and Patchpelt…  
Growing up with only Bluestar hadn't been easy, but perhaps if the white tom hadn't, he would not be as he was that present day.

The leader let out a small, content purr - everything in his Clan was fine, and he was responsible for that. Nobody had ever questioned his decisions, ever disobeyed his commands, ever mistaken his orders so far. Mousefur's kits had already become more active, and they were turning the elders crazy with questions most of the time they were awake, and Ferncloud had moved to the nursery immediately after her confession to Dustpelt, who had reacted with a purr that Fireheart had considered as 'ear damaging'.

Whitestar cuddled closely to his paws, about to take a quick nap. Willowpelt was sleeping all the time in the nursery, and their kits eager to train with their mentors. The leader closed his amber eyes, as small paw-steps neared him. "Look! He's asleep!" a small she-cat's voice gasped. "Come on, quickly! Just put the thrush down there, maybe he'll wake," a tom meowed.

Whitestar, clearly not yet asleep, blinked an eye open. In faked fear, he exclaimed: "Intruders! ShadowClan intruders! Help!" Oakkit and Crowkit let out small _mrrrows _of amusement, and leaped onto Whitestar's back. "Senior warriors! Come, help me!" The large tom gasped, and reached out with one big paw to softly knock Crowkit off of his head. The giggling quieted down as Fireheart entered the den.

"Whitestar! Come, quickly! There's been an accident on Thunderpath! I don't know who it is, yet, but most of the senior warriors are not in camp!" The flame-colored deputy called. With a sorrowful glance, the leader turned to the small kits.  
"Oakkit, Crowkit, why don't you go search your sister? Where is Swiftkit actually?" "Um, she's with daddy!" Oakkit squealed and looked at her paws. "Then why don't you join her, kits? I'm sure Longtail could show you some hunting moves!" Whitestar suggested, only to bring the small kits to other thoughts. "Yeah! All right!" Crowkit squeaked, and was right at his light brown tabby sister's paws, who had already emerged the den.

"Cute little fur balls," Fireheart meowed, but nudged Whitestar to his paws with his muzzle. "But we need to get going now! Whoever this is, I don't want them to die! Do you?" The leader shook his head, and quickly followed the younger tom through the forest. Awkwardly he noted that he was actually able to run faster than Fireheart, but he didn't want to make it look this way. _Thank you, Runningwind. _

Panting, Fireheart halted by the border of the rough stone path. "Look! Whitestar!"

"Great StarClan…," the snow-colored leader murmured and stepped onto the Thunderpath, ignoring his deputy's wails to be careful.

Looking around, he carefully moved to where the cat lay. The… cat? No! It was three of them, three painfully familiar figures.

Tigerstar was lying in front of two other cats, their ShadowClan scent mixing with the clenching Thunderpath one, his dark tabby shoulder heavily dislocated.

"Fireheart! Come on, help me drag Tigerstar away from here!" Whitestar ignored the fact that they hated the ShadowClan to death, he just wanted to help any cat with this fate; just how he'd want to be helped, too.

"No!" his deputy responded, his neck fur bristling. "This is a trap!"

Whitestar turned his head, and grabbed his enemy by his scruff, quickly but as gently as he could, pulling him across the rough surface of the floor.

The white tom set the unconscious leader down, at the small grass path between ThunderClan's territory and the Thunderpath, bending down to listen to his breathing or heartbeat. "It's small, but it's there," he whispered.

Jumping to his paws again, he acceded the Thunderpath once more, looking for the other two remaining cats this time. The she-cat was of russet-colored fur, and the white tom had huge, jet-black paws. Their tails were intertwined, but both of them were blood-stained all over their lithe bodies.  
"Oh no…," Whitestar whispered. "Fireheart! Get Cinderpelt, do it now!"

"No! Can't you see that this is only one of ShadowClan's miserable traps, Whitestar? Don't be stupid!" the flame-colored tom retorted, not moving his paws a mouse-length.

"Are you actually accusing me of stupidity, Fireheart?" Whitestar challenged. Those cats needed help! No matter _who _they were!

"I'm not accusing you of anything, Whitestar, just don't be stupid, alright?" Fireheart meowed, as though he was sure of everything he thought.

"Leave, Fireheart. Just leave," the white tom mewed, clearly disappointed of his deputy's accusations.

Snorting and muttering something in a small voice, Fireheart turned around and vanished through the trees.

Whitestar gave Tigerstar a few rough licks to his shoulder to strengthen him, and then went back to Russetfur and Blackfoot. He grabbed Russetfur's scruff first, and dragged her across the Thunderpath next to Tigerstar; Blackfoot joined them there shortly after. The ThunderClan leader was lucky that no twoleg monster had passed in a longer time now, or else he'd end up just like them. With a clenching heart, Whitestar had to accept that there was nothing more that could be done for both Russetfur and Blackfoot. They had died next to each other, probably in peace.

Letting out a deep sigh, the leader blinked his eyes and raced toward ThunderClan camp. After calling for Cinderpelt, the small medicine cat quickly emerged from the slope in a rock that made her den. "Yes, Whitestar?" she meowed, carrying a strong smell of herbs with her.

"Tigerstar, Russetfur and Blackfoot were hit by a monster close by our territory. I think that… I think that Russetfur and Blackfoot hunt with StarClan now, but Tigerstar…"

"Great StarClan! Come on, show me where they are!" Cinderpelt exclaimed. Just like Whitestar, she had a good soul and wanted to help any cat. Smirking, Whitestar remembered how she'd secretly helped ShadowClan through their horrible sickness that had taken many lives last leaf-bare. _How quickly time passes by… _

Meanwhile, Fireheart hurried around at the other side of the camp. "Dustpelt, Brackenfur, Thornclaw… and, and Goldenflower! Come on, we have to attack ShadowClan right away!"

The golden queen clenched in confusion - she was usually not used for fighting patrols. "Yes, _you_, Goldenflower. There's almost no cat here, but we _need _to attack immediately!" "Um, alright," the she-cat responded, unsheathing and sheathing her claws again. "Ashfur, you can come, too!"

The patrol raced toward the Thunderpath once again, but further away than where the accident had happened. "What do you want us to do now, Fireheart?" Brackenfur asked, the same confusion in his voice than in Goldenflower's. No one of the warriors seemed to know what was going on, but Fireheart didn't seem to care. "Just attack! Now!" the red tom called, and raced across the Thunderpath, clearly in the direction of ShadowClan's camp.

"Be careful, Whitestar," Cinderpelt instructed quietly, when the leader grabbed Tigerstar's scruff once again. "Look, you scraped his entire flank open! We can't drag him across this fox-dunged Thunderpath again. As much as it pains me to say it, Whitestar, but I guess we'll have to give him shelter in my den."

"Oh."

"Yes. Now come on, just grab him by the scruff, while I try to put his shoulder back into place. I don't know if he's lost a life yet…"

Whitestar did as he was told, and watched Tigerstar clench slightly when an awful knock was heard. Cinderpelt had obviously succeeded in relocating his shoulder. "Okay. You can put him on your back now…"

When the leader and the medicine cat arrived in ThunderClan's camp again, Tawnypaw, who was not training at that moment, stood in front of Cinderpelt's den. "Cinderpelt!" she called from further away. "I've been waiting for you! I think I have a fever…,"

"Not now, Tawnypaw, I'm sorry," the medicine cat retorted. The apprentice's eyes widened in disbelief as she spotted her father on her leader's back.

"Whitestar! What happened to him?" she screeched.

"He was hit by a monster, Tawnypaw. But don't worry, he's a leader…," Whitestar tried to reassure her. "Go and look for Brackenfur now. You could talk to him, or Brightheart…"

"Um, no," Tawnypaw meowed. "What? Why not, Tawnypaw? This is a really bad situation now, you know?"

"I just can't! Brightheart is hunting with Cloudtail, they want to be _alone_. And Brackenfur is on Fireheart's fighting patrol," she explained expressionlessly.

"What?" Whitestar and Cinderpelt gasped. "He did _not _obey my orders!" the white tom meowed, giving Cinderpelt's head a few licks. "Do you think you can deal with him alone? I need to go and stop them!"

Just in this very moment, as Cinderpelt nodded her head, Tigerstar let out a cough. "Blackfoot… Thunder- ThunderClan! Darkstripe…."

"Tigerstar? You are in ThunderClan. You were hit by a monster. Do you hear us?"

"Yes… where is Blackfoot?" the dark tabby tom, now blood-stained, croaked.

Whitestar let out a deep breath and exchanged a questioning glance with Cinderpelt. They were lucky that Tawnypaw hadn't witnessed too much.

Then, the ShadowClan leader opened his eyes, shivering from pain. "Can't… feel…"

"Shhh, it's all right," Cinderpelt meowed unsurely.

"Where… is… Blackfoot?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry, Tigerstar. He and Russetfur died right behind you."

"No!"


	15. Fourteen

**A/N: Another deep apology from my part!  
But as a few of you already know, I've been  
on holiday for the last week, and it was great,  
but due to this I didn't really get to writing -  
I typed this chapter up on my train back from  
France. :-)  
****Anyways, you guys DID the 50 reviews! Thanks  
to you all, only a writer can imagine how great it  
feels to get new reviews. So, I dedicate this chapter  
to MISSCURIOSITY2, who did the awesome 50th  
review! Thanks to you again! ;-)  
In this chapter, more about Tigerstar's injury will  
be revealed, and also: will Fireheart be able to  
develop his fighting plans? Who's right? Whitestar  
or Fireheart? And what do some dead cats have to  
do with all that? Read to find out! R&E&R! **

_"Where… is… Blackfoot?" he demanded. "I'm sorry, Tigerstar. He and Russetfur died right behind you." "No!"_

Whitestar blinked his amber eyes close, unable to watch the hurt tom in front of him, the tom he'd once considered his friend. Back in the nursery, Tigerkit and Whitekit had immediately liked each other; and as warriors, it had always been them - Lionheart, Redtail, Whitestorm, and Tigerclaw.  
But the dark leader of ShadowClan had killed Redtail, his deputy had killed Lionheart - and Bluestar's final death was Tigerstar's fault.

_No. I can't get weak now. He _was _my friend, but he's in a rival Clan. He destroyed cats. No. But it wasn't Fireheart's right to attack another Clan when they had lost their deputy, one of their senior warriors, and when their leader was at the border of his life._

Letting out a deep breath, Whitestar turned to Cinderpelt once again. "I'm leaving now. Please take care of him, but be careful."

Clearly distracted, the fluffy gray she-cat nodded her head and bent down to put some marigold on Tigerstar's wound. The white leader turned around and started to pad toward the gorse tunnel, where he bumped into Brightheart and Cloudtail, their jaws full of prey.

"Where have _you two _been?"

"Uh…"

"Hunting!" the she-cat exclaimed, letting the two squirrels and the vole she carried drop to the ground. "Can't you see that?"

"Yes, but what did you do for such a long time out in the forest, without telling anyone else?"

"Uh…" Cloudtail repeated.

"None of your business, Whitestar. Sorry," Brightheart mewed, touching her old mentor's flank with her tail. "We _do _have fresh-kill with us, though. Anything new here?"

Shivering, Whitestar felt uncomfortable at the thought of telling everything _again. _"Well… Tigerstar, Blackfoot, and Russetfur were hit by a monster."

"Oh, no!" Brightheart gasped, her blue eyes widening. Having suffered from some bad injuries herself, she'd become quite sensitive. "Did they-"

"Russetfur and Blackfoot. Your sister is taking care of Tigerstar…" Whitestar whispered. The patched she-cat lowered her head, shaking it slowly, her tail wrapping around Cloudtail's, who hadn't said a word since. The leader couldn't help but wonder why Brightheart would worry about the cat who'd chased the dogs at her, causing the horrible scar on her face.

"You're asking yourself why, aren't you?" she inquired in a small voice. Whitestar nodded his head in confusion.

"I feel sorry for Tigerstar. You should feel that, too. My injury hasn't caused me to lose the ones that I love, except for Swiftpaw, of course. But it finally brought Cloudtail and me together, and thanks to you, Whitestar, the rest of the Clan accepted me over again, too. But Tigerstar lives a pathetic life at the moment, can't you see that? He lost everything he had! And if he won't change, nobody will ever love him again! He was hit by a monster now, probably it was fate. But the question whether we can fight fate will always remain a mystery. The bigger question is what happens when we stop fighting it! That's the only option Tigerstar has left. And who would want to be in his place now?"

Cloudtail stared at his mate, his eyes gleaming with pride. The long-haired tom pressed closer to her, but she held Whitestar's gaze.

"When did you become so wise?" the leader chuckled, but nodding in approval.

"When I met StarClan," Brightheart whispered. "You_ did?_" Whitestar asked her in astonishment, knowing that she'd had a near death experience, but never that she'd actually met StarClan.

"Yes. I said goodbye to Swiftpaw one last time. And then I met Lionheart," she mewed. "He told me to be strong, to hold on through it. And that one day, I'd get what I deserve."

Whitestar purred at her, remembering the small, insecure apprentice she'd once been, touching her nose to his own for the first time. And now, she was one of the most confident she-cats he knew. But actually, the leader had other things on his mind at this moment - Fireheart and his battle patrol!

"I'm sure you will, Brightheart," he soothed the she-cat.

"I think I already have," she explained, pushing her fur even closer into Cloudtail's, looking into his eyes with a look full of love that it was almost embarrassing for Whitestar to stand in front of them. "I'm probably going to have kits. But we're not sure yet!"

"Oh!" the snow-colored tom meowed, stepping forward to lick her forehead. He decided it would probably be better to remain quiet about what he would have almost witnessed when he'd caught the two mates battle training.

"That's great! There will be so many new warriors for ThunderClan! First Mousefur, then Willowpelt, Ferncloud, and now you! Congratulations to you too, Cloudtail."

The two younger warriors nodded and purred at him, but then, a questioning gaze crept onto Cloudtail's face. "What are you doing out here in such a hurry anyways, when there's an injured evil cat in our camp?" he inquired, joking as always.

"Uh, Fireheart led out a battle patrol on his own, to attack ShadowClan. He thought the Thunderpath thing was a trap!"

"Oh! So that's where Frostfur was hurrying toward earlier?"

"You two saw her?"

"Yes!" Cloudtail mewed. "She was looking for Goldenflower, and Brightheart's brothers. I don't really know why, but she was very eager."

"All right, thank you! I need to find them right away! Oh, and put all the fresh-kill into the medicine den. Cinderpelt and Tigerstar will need it," Whitestar breathed, and hurried off as quick as his paws would carry him. _Or Runningwind's_.

"You pieces of fox-dung!" Fireheart yowled, flinging himself at a ShadowClan tom he didn't even know. Raking his flank with his claws, he saw the brown tom running off into the bushes, looking for his medicine cat to cure the scratches Fireheart had caused. The red deputy didn't even noticed the white figure next to him, as he launched himself on the next cat near him. "Fireheart! Stop it! Fireheart!" Whitestar meowed, trying to get his warrior off of the she-cat he recognized as Tallpoppy.

"Let go of her, Fireheart! Now!" the leader yowled so loudly that every fighting cat stopped dead in their tracks.

"ThunderClan, retreat! I did not intend this attack. Hereby I apologize to ShadowClan," Whitestar declared, looking around. All the ShadowClan warriors, and even apprentices that were there, carried an incredibly scared gaze in their eyes. Shooting them a comforting look, he nudged Fireheart to his side.

"Russetfur, Blackfoot, and Tigerstar were hit by a monster close to our territory. Cinderpelt is treating Tigerstar in our medicine den at the moment."

"What- what happened to my parents?" Rowanpaw inquired in a small voice. "Are they all right?"

It broke his heart to mew this to the small apprentice, but he eventually had to know. "I am so sorry, Rowanpaw…"

"No!" he yowled, making some other warriors clench. He bound forward to press to the next cat that stood by him, which was, surprisingly, Tawnypaw.

"So we're without a deputy now, and our leader is at _your_ camp, Whitestar? How should we believe that you didn't plan this?" one of the warriors challenged.

Swallowing, Whitestar bent down and gave his own shoulder a lick, trying to smoothen the fur that would not calm down.

"Why would I do this? I was the one who removed their bodies from the Thunderpath! I was the one who called for Cinderpelt! I was the one who stopped Fireheart from attacking you! I was the one who was friends with Tigerstar one day, by StarClan's sake!" the leader exclaimed breathlessly.

And he didn't need to say more. One by one, the ShadowClan cats dipped their heads in front of him, and vanished through the bushes.

Fireheart stood near Frostfur, who was licking one of Thornclaw's scratches, and Brackenfur, who purred in amusement at his brother.

"I'm going to look for Sandstorm now. I still don't understand how you can trust them, Whitestar," the ginger warrior explained, and turned around to strut off.

"Just do that, Fireheart. You and I will talk later."

Ashfur and Dustpelt were talking quietly next to Goldenflower, who was the only ThunderClan cat that was laying on the ground. "Get out of my way!" Whitestar meowed quietly, quickly approaching the pale ginger she-cat, who had some very bad injuries at her back.

"Tawnypaw!" the leader called, and the apprentice appeared from one of the bushes ShadowClan had vanished behind. "Where have you been?"

"Uh, I was talking to Rowan-… Mother!" the tortoiseshell exclaimed, quickly hurrying toward the unconscious queen.

"Get Cinderpelt, please."

Humming quietly, Cinderpelt lay down to count her poppy seeds, and shot another glance at Tigerstar, who was sleeping soundly in the corner of the den.

_He looks almost peaceful this way_, the medicine cat thought. He hadn't woken up since Whitestar had told him the news, and Cinderpelt was determined to go to the Moonstone that night, since she had no idea how all this was going to end. She _needed _StarClan's help now.

"Three… three sacri-" A deep growl came from behind her - Tigerstar was talking in his sleep _again_. Cinderpelt couldn't help but wonder why everyone was talking about those "three sacrifices" - when she hadn't even heard herself about it! Fireheart, Whitestar, and now Tigerstar. It was horrible!

"I promise," the dark tabby tom meowed shortly after, a "yes" followed, then. _What in StarClan's name is happening? _

"Redtail, Running-" he muttered, "Runningwind. A-and Brindleface"

The last part of his sentence was only a small whisper, but the most curious thing was that his eyes were still closed, and his tail was twitching eventually, as did his paws.

"Tigerstar?" the medicine cat whispered, nudging his back with her muzzle. "Are you awake?"

The next thing Cinderpelt heard was a gasp, mixed with a yowl, and Tigerstar's wide opened eyes stared at her.

On the other side of the forest, Whitestar collapsed.


	16. Fifteen

**A/N: Meow everyone! :-) Once again I want  
****to apologize for my delay, but I've finally  
****arrived at the more difficult chapters to  
****write, so yeah, I hope you understand. :-)  
****There are just so many things happening  
****& very it's hard to order it… uh, you'll find  
****out soon why. Anyways, a few of you have  
****asked me why this story is actually rated "T".  
****Um, well, there are a few references of mating,  
****as you might have noticed with Willowpelt or  
****with Cloudtail & Brightheart, and there's a bit  
****more violence to come in the next chapters.  
****But aside from that, these next chapters are  
****so thrilling to write! Also, my delay was  
****influenced by this stupid 'error type 2' thingy.  
****But I figured it out! When this window pops  
****up, change 'property' to 'content' in the address  
****line. Then it works! :-) _This chapter is dedicated  
to everyone who had to deal with so much loss in Japan._  
Now R&E&R! ~Brackenpaw**

_The next thing Cinderpelt heard was a gasp, mixed with a yowl, and Tigerstar's wide opened eyes stared at her.  
__On the other side of the forest, Whitestar collapsed._

"All right, Tigerstar, calm down," Cinderpelt murmured, hurrying around the larger tom's body with some herbs in her jaws. After a few moments, she succeeded - he was asleep once again, his breath somewhat steady - but the medicine cat couldn't help but notice a change of his scent.

She decided to let him rest now, and hurried outside to move almost the entire fresh-kill pile into her den. Cinderpelt knew that Fireheart led out a battle patrol, and if she was sure of one thing, then that it wouldn't end _without _any hurt cats. She still didn't understand what the ShadowClan leader had been meaning to express with the three deceased warriors' names. _Redtail, Runningwind and Brindleface. _

After carrying the last vole into the small medicine den, shock hit her like a monster hit the Thunderpath. Thornclaw and Brackenfur were dragging Goldenflower into camp! The queen's back was bleeding heavily on several places, and Cinderpelt leaped toward them as quickly as her injured leg could carry her. "Get her into my den, right away!" the medicine cat commanded, and her brothers quickly obeyed.

Frostfur raced behind them, although she was only suffering from a few smaller scratches. "Frostfur! Why did you join this patrol without telling anyone?" Cinderpelt hissed at her mother in clear disbelief. "Do you want to get yourself killed or what?" At this sentence, a rare expression made its way onto the white she-cat's face. Hurt, mixed with anger, love, and sadness.

"Does that matter? You better heal Goldenflower now!" Frostfur whispered, flicking her tail toward the entrance of her daughter's den.

The gray she-cat rolled her eyes slightly, before stepping beside Goldenflower, who was breathing steadily at the border of consciousness.

Cinderpelt sniffed at her injuries, and declared, "She'll be all right."

Tawnypaw, who had followed them, dropped two more mice into the den, and let out a deep breath. "Thank you, Cinderpelt! Here, I caught those on my way here. I- I'll just leave them here…," the apprentice whispered. "Please make them be alright. Please help my parents."

Cinderpelt froze to look up at Tawnypaw, whose expression was filled with sadness. She quickly stepped back and exited the den to hurry toward her brother, Bramblepaw, and the two vanished into the apprentices' den.

"Where's Whitestar?" the medicine cat asked no one in particular. Suddenly, a deeper chuckle came from behind her. "I'm right here."

"Whitestar!" Cinderpelt exclaimed. "Where have you been? Have you seen Fireheart, or Sandstorm?"

"Cinderpelt, I-"

"No, really! I mean, it's more than rude of him to lead out a patrol on his own without your approval, and then they _get lost _and-"

"Cinderpelt!"

"Yes?" she inquired, looking up from the herbs she was treating Goldenflower with, who was now asleep. "Sorry. You can't know how it is, but I'm just so nervous at the moment, Whitestar! It's Tigerstar. He was rambling some weird things in his sleep, about deceased warriors, and he agreed to something-"

The leader's eyes widened, and Cinderpelt took a step back. _Does he know something? _

"Those could have been normal dreams, of course, but somehow this didn't seem to me like one. Maybe it's got to do something with the _three sacrifices_?" Cinderpelt asked.

"Cinderpelt, when I was out in the forest, waiting for all the hurt cats to go back, I-"

Whitestar paused to exhale intensely, and stared at his paws then. "You what, Whitestar? You can tell me!"

"I collapsed. I _fainted_, just like that! I don't even know why, but-"

"Great StarClan!" the medicine cat exclaimed, hurrying toward her leader again, sniffing at the white tom to make out any scents of illness. "Do you feel alright?"

"Yes, Cinderpelt, I do! And that's the weird thing," he whispered.

"Did you… did you see StarClan?" Cinderpelt inquired, applying some more marigold onto one of Goldenflower's wounds with her paw.

"Yes," the snow-pelted tom repeated. "But I don't really feel like talking about this yet. I'm sorry," he meowed in a small voice.

"But that's okay, Whitestar. But tell me one last thing, please: did, whoever you met, mention something about the _three sacrifices_?"

"Yes," he gasped once again. "And I can't believe that that's true."

"But what is?" Cinderpelt asked.

"I'll tell you later. I haven't it figured it all out yet, either. But it's unbelievable, I- I think I'll have to see Willowpelt now."

The medicine cat gulped, and turned around to fetch some cowebs from the edge of her den to put onto Goldenflower's back, trying to hide her disappointment. The she-cat shot another glance at Tigerstar. The large tom was now lying very close to his former mate, his paw almost touching her much smaller one. Cinderpelt couldn't help but wonder how many steps they'd taken together, their tails intwined and their throats purring, filled with emotion.

"Willowpelt's in the elders' den," she whispered to Whitestar. "Talking to Speckletail…"

But he'd already vanished.

A little while later, Cinderpelt stopped dead in her tracks as she heard a tom's loud yowling from a den across from hers. She quickly slid into the small secret entrance that she and Yellowfang had constructed not too long ago, when the elderly she-cat was still alive and agile. _But these times are gone_, Cinderpelt thought angrily, and padded through her den, careful not to disturb Tigerstar or Goldenflower's sleep.

When the medicine cat finally reached the clearing in the camp, she spotted Whitestar shooing Smallear, One-Eye and Dappletail from the elders' den, the old cats grunting small insults at their leader. Speckletail's pale tabby fur came up from behind the den with some patches off wet moss in her jaws, and she entered again as quick as her paws could carry her.

A she-cat wailed even louder, and Cinderpelt couldn't help but stare, until Whitestar started yowling at her.

"Cinderpelt! Get your pelt into the elders' den, right away! Willowpelt is kitting!"

"Oh, all right! Let me fetch some borage first…"

After returning to her own den and grasping the leaves in her jaws, the medicine cat bumped into Silverstream, Graystripe, Fireheart and Sandstorm in the clearing. "Where have you been the entire time? There are some cats that were hurt very badly! And Willowpelt's kitting now! Ugh, get out of my way!"

Cinderpelt exclaimed and bounded past them, straightly into the elders' den.

"_Why _in StarClan's name is Willowpelt kitting in the elders' den?" Graystripe asked, his voice full of confusion. "No idea," Silverstream replied, a longing gaze on her pretty face. "It's been a nice day. Featherpaw and Stormpaw are so much like us, Graystripe!" the she-cat sighed. Sandstorm didn't meow anything until Fireheart nudged her flank with his nose. "Why don't you fetch Cloudtail, Rainpaw and Sorrelpaw and go battle training?" he suggested his mate, and peered into the apprentices' den. Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw were talking quietly to each other, their tails wrapped around each others' paws for comfort.

Sorrelpaw and Rainpaw were sleeping soundly beside them. Sandstorm nodded, and touched noses with Silverstream. The pale ginger she-cat was relieved to have finally found another she-cat she could consider her best friend. She licked Fireheart's muzzle and padded across the clearing, past the three elders who were now sunning themselves on some rocks, and Longtail, who was playing with his kits with some rotten leaves left from leaf-fall.

Ferncloud and Mousefur's loud chattering could be heard through the branches of the nursery, but Willowpelt's panting was even louder. Graystripe and Fireheart shot each other confused glances at Sandstorm's strange behavior, but Fireheart didn't seem to mind.

"Now tell me," Graystripe meowed. "What happened earlier, while Silverstream and I were gone? The entire battle patrol thing?"

The ginger deputy gulped and sat down, curling his tail around his paws. "Well," he started.

"I saw some cats getting hit by a monster on the Thunderpath, so I went to get Whitestar. When we got there, we recognized that it was Tigerstar, Russetfur and Blackfoot. By the time Russetfur and Blackfoot had already died and - "

"What?" his long-furred best friend interrupted. "They _died_? And you caused another fight? You mousebrain!"

"No, wait! Let me speak, Graystripe," Fireheart murmured. "Please." Graystripe nodded his head.

"I was sure that it was a trap. It's _ShadowClan_, for StarClan's sake! What else could I have expected? It's Tigerstar! But Whitestar didn't want to listen to me when I suggested an attack," the red tomcat swallowed, "so I left, and led out a patrol. Whitestar asked me whether I questioned his stupidity! I took every cat I could find. Thornclaw, Brackenfur, Dustpelt, Ashfur, Tawnypaw, even Goldenflower."

The gray warrior shook his head, and slapped Fireheart's flank with his paw. "What?" he shrieked. "Even Frostfur joined us. It seemed like she wanted to," Fireheart continued. "And then?"

"We attacked. I think Whitestar removed their bodies from the Thunderpath on his own. Tigerstar's here now, isn't here? Anyways, only Goldenflower was hurt. Whitestar interrupted, and I left to see Sandstorm. That's it."

"Fireheart, that is the most irresponsible thing that I've heard of!" Graystripe gasped in disbelief. "Why did you do that, without Whitestar's permission?"

The deputy didn't say anything, any sign of nobility vanishing from his appearance in this moment. He took a deep breath, and looked up at his friend again.

"You mated with a RiverClan she-cat! Now tell me that's responsible!" Fireheart shot back.

"Look, Fireheart, Silverstream once told me something Crookedstar told every apprentice in RiverClan. And I think he's right. See, it's better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. But he said that it's the true warrior who knows that wars don't end, they simply change. And there can never be peace as long as claws are still unsheathed and there's plenty of strength and ambition."

The red deputy gulped, and raised to his paws, nearing Graystripe quietly. "I'm sorry," he whispered, placing his head on his friends' shoulder.

"I forgive you," another voice meowed, causing Graystripe and Fireheart to quickly let go of each other. "Whitestar!"

"That was very wise, Graystripe. Thank you for telling Fireheart things I can't pass on to my warriors…"

The dark gray tom shot his leader a questioning gaze. "…yet."

Fireheart purred in amusement, and turned around, with a last dip of his head, to enter the warriors' den.

"I'm really sorry, Whitestar. I was selfish. I only thought of my own suffering, I didn't realize that others have suffered, too," he declared, shooting a sad expression to where Cloudtail and Sandstorm were just leaving camp with their apprentices. The loss of their mother and foster mother Brindleface had hit the two warriors very harshly. "The only thing I could see before my eyes was Tigerstar, his cruel ambitions, his evil plans, and… _blood._"

He turned around to look into Whitestar's eyes. But the amber color of them was filled with so much affection that Fireheart truly felt at home again.

"Whitestar, is everything all right?" he whispered, his voice cracking a little. The white leader responded with a loud purr.

"Everything's perfect," the tom announced. "Willowpelt and I have a new she-kit!"

"Oh, Whitestar! That's amazing!" Fireheart exclaimed, flicking his tail at Whitestar's flank. "But I'm so sorry for keeping you here for such a long time. I'm sure you'd rather be with them-"

"My Clan is my family."

At this sentence, Whitestar leaped to his paws again, and quickly made his way into the elders' den. Fireheart followed him unsurely whether he was wished there. "Whitestar?" he asked when they were almost there. Amber eyes gazed at him again. "Can I come in, too?"

The leader's lip curled in a friendly manner, almost a _smile_. "Of course."

The small branches of the bush that made the den were reflecting some of the fading afternoon sunlight, blending Fireheart's eyes. He padded through the tunnel that was the entrance blindly, and was relieved to see more darkness inside, giving it a cozy atmosphere.

On a soft mossy and feathery nest, Willowpelt had a tiny, white creature nestled into the crook of her still slightly rounded belly, eying it with a look full of love.

The amber-eyed leader immediately lay down beside his family, and Fireheart's gaze fell upon Sootpaw, who was crouched behind his mother and new sister.

"Hi," he whispered. Speckletail was there, too, in her usual nest, as this was the elders' den.

Taking two pawsteps in the queen's direction, Fireheart's green eyes eyed the small she-kit once again. She was entirely white, only with a light gray-and-white dappled tail, and also light gray fur around her ears.

"She's really pretty," the deputy whispered, unsure what to say about newborn kits. "Her fur looks like pawsteps in the snow."

Willowpelt purred affectionately, and waved her tail in Fireheart's direction, only to wrap it around her daughter again. "The only one?"

"Just like me," Whitestar answered.

"Yes," the light gray queen responded. "Speckletail, Whitestar? I've decided on a name. Meet Snowkit."

"Oh!" the former queen exclaimed, jumping to her paws. Fireheart could see Whitestar's eyes well up, bending down to his mate and whispering into her ear, his body radiating with emotion. Speckletail passed the toms and stood by the entrance of the den. "That is so kind of you. You're keeping his memory alive," she mewed. "I need to go tell Smallear." And she was gone.

Willowpelt's steady purring was soothing, but Fireheart decided not to disturb them any longer. He nodded his goodbye and added, "I wish her much luck in this forest. StarClan will be watching over her. You two make great parents."

Whitestar let out a small affectionate _mrrow_, but Fireheart wasn't sure to whom it was addressed. Willowpelt had named the new kit after her mate's deceased mother, that truly _was _something for a tom.  
He followed Speckletail outside, and saw the elder sharing tongues with her mate, Smallear. They lay very close to the medicine den, where their only surviving kit Goldenflower slept her injuries out, alongside Tigerstar. Shudders still ran down Fireheart's spine when he thought of the ShadowClan leader.

The red tom padded toward Cinderpelt's den, and peered inside. The queen's scratches were almost not visible - so many herbs had the medicine cat put on her aunt's wounds. And Tigerstar…

The deputy felt a strange kind of change in the air, as if there were a different atmosphere surrounding the evil tom.

"Cinderpelt?" he whispered, wondering if his friend was maybe behind her den, where many nice herbs grew. But no answer came.

After leaving the bramble bush again, Fireheart strutted across the clearing, trying to let all the different emotions of this day sink in. His fear, his anger, his lust, Whitestar's forgiveness, Sandstorm's love, Graystripe's wisdom, Willowpelt's affection… and the deep struggle whether to question the _trap _or not.

It was in fact quite hard to deal with the whirlwind of feelings surrounding Fireheart now. But then, a bigger, dark gray-and-black tabby figure slowly made its way into the camp, appearing from under the shadows of the gorse tunnel. The deputy opened his jaws, trying to make out a familiar scent, and then it hit him.

"Darkstripe!"


	17. Sixteen

**Hi folks! I'm sick of having to apologize  
every chapter for not posting anything in  
such a long time, but I AM SORRY! :)  
Just when I'd finished the chapter, ff  
wouldn't let me log in for four days, and  
after rereading the chapter, I found that  
I was not quite finished with it. I'm still  
not 100%ely content, but yeah...  
You have all been such a great support  
to me, and I couldn't make you wait any  
longer! Though, all of you seem to have  
loved "Flaws" a lot more than "Unexpected".  
Oh well, if I read them both, I'd probably  
like "Flaws" a bit more as well. I really liked  
how it came to end, and I displayed the  
emotions better. But now, we've arrived  
at the, let's say, four most thrilling chapters  
of "Unexpected", and I'm delighted about  
any review, favorite, criticsm, or whatever  
I get! But please note that it's a bit rude to  
put on alert but not review. I've been a lazy  
reviewer myself once - before I'd posted a  
thing - but now I review almost any story  
I think is quite good. I'll stop rambling now -  
OH! If a character seems OOC in this chapter,  
****don't try to tell me so. I _know _they are, but  
it's all part of the plot. R&E&R! :) **

_The deputy opened his jaws, trying to make out a familiar scent, and then it hit him. "Darkstripe!"_

Waves of anger, but also fear ran down Fireheart's spine. But before he could growl a word at his former Clanmate, the dark tom rose his voice.

"Don't worry, I come in peace!" Darkstripe dipped his head and raised one paw to reveal his sheathed claws. Fireheart curled his lip and took a few pawsteps towards the ShadowClan warrior, his fur bristling with insecurity.

"What brings you here?" he inquired.

"What do you _expect _brought me here?" Darkstripe retorted, shooting an angry but also hurt glare at Fireheart. "Where is he?"

"Medicine den."

The darker tom immediately bounded forwards, eagerly approaching the well-known den his leader, mentor and best friend was currently staying in.

He stopped right before entering the small tunnel, as if he was unsure what would expect him there. Fireheart froze as Darkstripe turned his head to face him.

"Thanks," he meowed.

"What for?"

"For keeping him here, not letting him die. The loss of Blackfoot and Russetfur hurt ShadowClan deeply, you know," the warrior explained calmly.

"We would have done that for every cat. ThunderClan isn't as cold-hearted, you must know," Fireheart murmured, unable to keep the anxiousness out of his voice, his tail tip flicking permanently.

"I know."

At this, Darkstripe finally padded into the den, immediately bending down as he stepped to Tigerstar.

"Hey," the senior warrior whispered. "I don't think you can hear me now, but if you do, I want you to know that-"

Suddenly, faint mews started to rise from Tigerstar's throat, and he tried to move one paw, which resulted in a painful twitching.

"Where's Cinderpelt when you need her?" Darkstripe asked.

"She's out. Collecting more herbs for Goldenflower. She's hurt, in case you've noticed."

But the dark tom ignored Fireheart, and lowered his head to touch his nose to his injured friend's.

"You can do it. I know you can. StarClan gave you this chance, _nine _chances, to be a fine leader. You can't leave. ShadowClan will lose anything if you do," he whispered, his voice filled with emotion, causing Fireheart to settle around uncomfortably.

_Since when do you actually believe in StarClan? _the deputy wondered, about to ask his former Clanmate this very question, but then, Tigerstar slowly opened his eyes. Firestar gasped as the brown tabby raised his head painfully to return Darkstripe's gesture.

"I heard you," he whispered. "I'm going to be alright. _We _are going to be alright."

"What do you mean?" the warrior inquired.

Tigerstar's lips curled, it appeared as if he was almost smiling. "I won't let any more pain harm ShadowClan. _You _won't, Darkstripe."

Said tom shook his head in confusion. "Tigerstar, what do you want from me?"

"Three sacrifices will save us," the leader rasped, his eyes widening as he flinched, a spasm of coughs hitting him.

"Tigerstar!" Darkstripe yowled.

Fireheart decided not to let this go on like that anymore. He peered out of the den, only to see that clouds had started to block the remaining rays of run, making the sky appear in an almost entirely dark gray color, and it had started to rain.

"Darkstripe," Fireheart heard Tigerstar's deep voice whisper when he'd calmed down. The red tom turned around to see the dark warrior still crouched over his injured friend, his ears raised attentively.

"Darkstripe, I need you to do me a favor."

"Yes, Tigerstar? I- I'll do anything, I promise. But please… please don't leave," Darkstripe wailed quietly.

"I won't. And I won't lead ShadowClan into more darkness any more… I can't be who I've become, Darkstripe. The last few sunrises made that clear for me."

"What do you mean?"

"You've always been better than me. You've always seen at least a bit of a bright side in things I didn't even want to look at… StarClan has told me what to do. But they have not only given me things back, they have also taken some. My lives are no more," Tigerstar meowed, his voice surprisingly gentle.

"What?" Darkstripe gasped, his eyes widening from the shock. "But Tigerstar! You told me that you wouldn't die! If StarClan… _gave _you some things, then why would you lie to me again? I don't understand!"

"I'm not dying, Darkstripe. I already have. Seven times, to be exact. I'm no longer leader of ShadowClan. I can't be."

"But Tigerstar!" Darkstripe wailed, a strange kind of strength in his voice, though. "What will our Clan do without you? You were the one to save ShadowClan! You were chosen!"

"I _was_," the brown tabby snarled, "chosen to save ShadowClan from the downfall. And from more _evil_. I've done wrong, and every cat knows so."

"But when you died seven times… StarClan took _each _life from you? That's so cruel!"

"It didn't hurt, Darkstripe. Except for once, at the Thunderpath. I lost my first life there. Just like Blackfoot and Russetfur…"

"I know," Darkstripe whispered. "But what about the others? May you tell me about this?"

"Yes," Tigerstar whispered, ejecting another small cough. "I lost one because of my injury. The other one… because of my behavior towards Bluestar. One was my ambition, and the another was my _want _to take over everything. The three last ones… were special. _Three sacrifices_, these are magic words, Darkstripe. They saved _me _and they will save us all… Whitestar was there. He was there when they… _awoke_. StarClan made me choose. They made me choose the three things in my life I regret most… I was given a _choice_, Darkstripe. Never was I given a choice before… but now I am, once again."

"Tigerstar? Are you sure that you're all right?" the dark gray tabby whispered, the fur on his neck bristling anxiously. "What about that favor you mentioned before? And what about the two other lives?"

As Tigerstar inhaled and exhaled deeply, an even friendlier expression appeared on his usually gruesome face. He flicked his tail toward Goldenflower's sleeping figure. "I was allowed to keep either my original life and three other ones, or only one life, and another one to prove myself one last time."

"How do you want to do that?"

"You'll see, Darkstripe. You'll see. I chose to prove myself, but I won't do that as I'd planned before. Three sacrifices could save me… And I chose to leave this forest in another way than I'd probably have. Do you understand?"

"No!" Darkstripe whispered, his voice filling with desperation.

"But you will. One day, you will. And the favor… I told you before that you've always been better than me. Better than I ever have. My leader's lives are no more, you know that. Darkstripe, in all of our friendship. I need _you _to become leader of ShadowClan," Tigerstar pronounced.

The warrior jumped to his paws, and immediately took a few steps back, nearing the wall of the thorny den. His eyes wandered around, trying to fix at one point not to end in even more confusion. "_What_? Tigerstar, you can't be serious! _I_, of all cats, could never lead a Clan! Do you hear me? I can't!"

"Shhh, shut it. That's not true, Darkstripe. You are my best friend, my _only _friend. The one I could trust in the thing that has been the most important thing in my life for the last moons. So _please_. Do it for me. Go to the Moonstone tonight, with Littlecloud. You'll be surprised what you'll find."

"But Tigerstar!" Darkstripe squirmed, sitting down next to Tigerstar's laying body again. "I can't do this without you! At least be my deputy then! Oh no… this seems so wrong," he whispered.

But the bigger tom smirked. "I'll always be by your side… I think. StarClan changed me, they really have. Get out of here now."

Darkstripe blinked his eyes close, and started nodding his head almost violently. He opened them again, and bent down to slightly touch noses to Tigerstar, who promptly touched his cheek to the tom's.

Without a word, the newly named leader stood up, and left the den after a last glance toward his fallen friend.

Stopping abruptly at the tunnel entrance, where a ginger tom was still crouched beneath some branches, Darkstripe halted.

"Fireheart! You- you're still here?" he grunted, seemingly surprised.

"It's not only raining, there's a thunderstorm approaching… "

"Oh. _What _did you hear?" the tabby inquired, turning his head toward the exit of the den.

"A few things… only the louder ones. Don't worry. You should go now, Darkstripe."

"I will," he meowed, quietly padding outside. Fireheart peered after him, leaving the den the moment he'd spotted Darkstripe's tail tip between the trees.

The green-eyed tom hurried across the clearing into Whitestar's den, entering without any hesitation. Breathless, Fireheart came to a stop before Whitestar's paws. Not able to contain himself, he started shooting questions at his leader, more than confused about Tigerstar's speech to Darkstripe.

"Whitestar, _what _did you see in StarClan? What did they do to Tigerstar, and why were you there? Who _awoke_?"


	18. Apology

**A/N: Hi everyone. Yes, it's me again. I am so so sorry for not being able to update. It's been one month and one week, and I do know that some writers take that much time for one chapter, but I feel deeply sorry.**

** My laptop was stolen at the airport while I was on a short holiday and it had all my documents on it. I've been given a new MacBook by my parents and it's amazing, but sadly all my old chapters are gone. **

**While I deeply regret losing my fic, I've found that I was not even quite content with what I've written for the next few chapters. I'm already working really hard on typing it all up again, and I've been making some changes in the story, and somehow it's really exhausting me. But I do not give up. :-) **

**Please not that I am NOT giving up on "Unexpected"! **

**I love this story, it's like my baby; my major project. I have so many more ideas for it, it just takes some time to build it all up again. The semester is almost over and when it is, I'll be in a lot less stress & my huge inspiration will come back, and I know I just won't be able to stop typing.  
I'm already doing that at the moment, but it's really, really hard; and takes time.**

**I hope that you all can understand that & will go on reading this story, as it will continue! This is not a hiatus, and this is not "abandoning" my story. (Not for you getting any ideas, the story is also NOT up for adoption.)**

**Comments, criticsm, praise, & cheering up is very much welcomed & appreciated. You can also message me. I'm not dead. :-D **

******Please have faith in me! :-)**

**Thank you all! Especially all the ones who have supported me with kind reviews, alerts & favs in the past. This means a lot. **

**xoxo**

**~Brackenpaw**

**(P.S. You might even see a new story from me on here soon!) **


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